This by-law fixes the constructive and organisational dispositions that must fulfill the power consuming facilities, including those having a power generation group, in order to make their direct connection to the public power grid conformable with the objectives of the decree from June 27, 2003. The dispositions concern: the power, connection scheme, protection systems, earthing, domain of operation, possible disturbances, communication and remote control systems of the power consuming facility. (J.S.)

Reseau Environnement is a Montreal-based organization that promotes the protection of ecosystems and human health. Their mandate is to extend the existing standards for reducing pollutants and to tap the full potential of Quebec expertise in addressing pollution sources. Reseau Environnement recently appealed to the Quebec Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks to develop clear, flexible and modern regulations for Quebec, similar to those found in Europe and the United States, to efficiently control atmospheric emissions in an effort to counteract the negative effects they impart on ecosystems and human health. Among the requests was the revision of certain pollution regulation clauses to regulate odor emissions; identify preferred measuring methods for pollutants; apply ambient air quality standards to existing installations; apply standards for particulates; impose requirements for the frequency of pollution sampling and make changes to some components of Montreal's Regulation 90 regarding air pollution from industrial activities. 13 refs.

These rules define the technical, financial and legal conditions applied to imports and/or exports made by the user on the French public power transmission grid (Reseau Public de Transport - RPT), considering the available capacity on interconnections and any particular technical constraints of the European interconnected network, notably in terms of safety: 1 - definitions; 2 - general conditions (scope, participation conditions, user obligations, signature, enforcement and duration of the participation agreement, attachment of transactions to a balance responsible entity, rules modification procedure, access to the information system, financial conditions, guarantee of exchange programmes, transfer of rights and obligations, intellectual property, confidentiality, force majeure, responsibility, termination, notifications and operational exchange procedures, territorial application of the rules, applicable law and language, dispute resolution); 3 - conditions for the application of imports and exports (allocating transmission capacity on interconnections, allocating import capacity, changing a capacity allocation mechanism, the different categories of exchange programmes, standard programmes, weekly programmes, daily programmes, nominations in the event of a failure in the information system, information published by RTE); 4 - conditions for the application of intra-day transactions (intra-day transaction requests, processing intra-day transaction requests, modification of an intra-day transactions programme). 16 models of correspondence documents are given in appendixes.

The first measurement of direct photons in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV is presented. The direct photon signal is extracted as a function of the Au+Au collision centrality and compared to NLO pQCD calculations. The direct photon yield is shown to scale with the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions for all centralities.

We present density functional theory calculations on the direct synthesis of H2O2 from H-2 and O-2 over an Au-12 corner model of a gold nanoparticle. We first show a simple route for the direct formation of H2O2 over a gold nanocatalyst, by studying the energetics of 20 possible elementary...... that the rate of H2O2 and H2O formation can be determined from a single descriptor, namely, the binding energy of oxygen (E-O). Our model predicts the search direction starting from an Au-12 nanocluster for an optimal catalyst in terms of activity and selectivity for direct H2O2 synthesis. Taking also stability...

We calculate the spectra of high energy photons emitted in relativistic Au+Au collisions for various centralities and compare to data recently collected at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider by the PHENIX collaboration. Our results for photons from primary hard scatterings and photons from interactions of jets with the medium are consistent with the measurements of neutral pion and direct photon production in p+p collisions and give a good description of direct photon spectra measured in Au+Au collisions. The contribution of photons from jet-to-photon conversion in the medium can be as large as the photon yield from hard scatterings in the momentum range p_T = 2...6 GeV/c. We show that this novel mechanism is not ruled out by any existing data.

We report the measurement of direct photons at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV. The direct photon signal was extracted for the transverse-momentum range of 4 GeV/c < p_T < 22 GeV/c, using a statistical method to subtract decay photons from the inclusive-photon sample. The direct-photon nuclear-modification factor R_AA was calculated as a function of p_T for different Au+Au collision centralities using the measured p+p direct-photon spectrum and compared to theoretical predictions. R_AA was found to be consistent with unity for all centralities over the entire measured p_T range. Theoretical models that account for modifications of initial-direct-photon production due to modified-parton-distribution functions in Au and the different isospin composition of the nuclei, predict a modest change of R_AA from unity and are consistent with the data. Models with compensating effects of the quark-gluon plasma on high-energy photons, such as suppression of jet-fragmentation photons and indu...

We report on measurements of directed flow as a function of pseudorapidity in Au+Au collisions at energies of $\\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} =$ 19.6, 62.4, 130 and 200 GeV as measured by the PHOBOS detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). These results are particularly valuable because of the extensive, continuous pseudorapidity coverage of the PHOBOS detector. There is no significant indication of structure near midrapidity and the data surprisingly exhibit extended longitudinal scaling similar to that seen for elliptic flow and charged particle pseudorapidity density.

The second Fourier component v(2) of the azimuthal anisotropy with respect to the reaction plane is measured for direct photons at midrapidity and transverse momentum (p(T)) of 1-12 GeV/c in Au + Au collisions at √s(NN)] = 200 GeV. Previous measurements of this quantity for hadrons with p(T) 6 GeV/c a reduced anisotropy is interpreted in terms of a path-length dependence for parton energy loss. In this measurement with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider we find that for p(T) > 4 GeV/c the anisotropy for direct photons is consistent with zero, which is as expected if the dominant source of direct photons is initial hard scattering. However, in the p(T) hadrons, whereas model calculations for thermal photons in this kinematic region underpredict the observed v(2).

Directed flow measurements for $\\Lambda$-hyperons are presented and compared to those for protons produced in the same Au+Au collisions (2, 4, and 6 AGeV; $b < 5 - 6$ fm). The measurements indicate that $\\Lambda$-hyperons flow consistently in the same direction and with smaller magnitudes than those of protons. Such a strong positive flow [for $\\Lambda$s] has been predicted in calculations which include the influence of the $\\Lambda$-nucleon potential. The experimental flow ratio $\\Lambda$/p is in qualitative agreement with expectations ($\\sim 2/3$) from the quark counting rule at 2 AGeV but is found to decrease with increasing beam energy.

This study presents a new direct solar floor heating technique with double heating network wich allows simultaneous use of solar and supply energy. Its main purpose is to store and to diffuse the whole available solar energy while regulating supply energy by physical means without using computer controlled technology. This solar system has been tested in real user conditions inside a bioclimatic house to study the interaction of non-inertial and passive walls on the solar productivity. Daily, monthly and annual energy balances were drawn up over three years and completed by real-time measurements of several physical on-site parameters. As a result the expected properties of this technique were improved. The use of per-hour solar productivity, saved primary energy and corrected solar covering ratio is recommended to analyze the performances of this plant and to allow more refined comparisons with other solar systems

The second Fourier component v2 of the azimuthal anisotropy with respect to the reaction plane is measured for direct photons at midrapidity and transverse momentum (pT) of 1-12GeV/c in Au+Au collisions at sNN=200GeV. Previous measurements of this quantity for hadrons with pT6GeV/c a reduced anisotropy is interpreted in terms of a path-length dependence for parton energy loss. In this measurement with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider we find that for pT>4GeV/c the anisotropy for direct photons is consistent with zero, which is as expected if the dominant source of direct photons is initial hard scattering. However, in the pT<4GeV/c region dominated by thermal photons, we find a substantial direct-photon v2 comparable to that of hadrons, whereas model calculations for thermal photons in this kinematic region underpredict the observed v2.

The second Fourier component v_2 of the azimuthal anisotropy with respect to the reaction plane has been measured for direct photons at midrapidity and transverse momentum (p_T) of 1.15 GeV/c in Au+Au collisions at sqr(s_NN)=200 GeV. Previous measurements of this quantity for hadrons with p_T 6 GeV/c a reduced anisotropy is interpreted in terms of a path-length dependence for parton energy loss. In this measurement we find that for p_T > 4 GeV/c, the anisotropy for direct photons is consistent with zero and current uncertainties prevent a conclusive test of predicted small v_2 values from jet conversion and fragmentation photons. However, in the p_T < 4 GeV/c region, dominated by thermal photons, we find a substantial direct photon v_2 comparable to that of hadrons, whereas model calculations for thermal photons in this kinematic region significantly underpredict the observed v_2.

Interfacial atoms, which result from interactions between the metal nanoparticles and support, have a large impact on the physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles. However, they are difficult to observe; the lack of knowledge has been a major obstacle toward unraveling their role in chemical transformations. Here we report conclusive evidence of interfacial Au atoms formed on the rutile (TiO2) (110) surfaces by activation using high-temperature (∼500 °C) annealing in air. Three-dimensional imaging was performed using depth-sectioning enabled by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. Results show that the interface between Au nanocrystals and TiO2 (110) surfaces consists of a single atomic layer with Au atoms embedded inside Ti-O. The number of interfacial Au atoms is estimated from ∼1-8 in an interfacial atomic column. Direct impact of interfacial Au atoms is observed on an enhanced Au-TiO2 interaction and the reduction of surface TiO2; both are critical to Au catalysis.

The interest of giving active functions to antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials in spintronics devices has been realized recently. Mn2Au is a high-Néel temperature antiferromagnet with large Mn moment, lying in plane of the tetragonal structure. To determine the direction of the moments in Mn2Au, an original approach is demonstrated, which should be generic to planar AFM materials. It involves the rotation of the granular sample around an axis perpendicular to the applied magnetic field. The family of easy moment directions is . For grains prevented from rotating, the dominant magnetization process is AFM domain wall motion. Textured Mn2Au nanoelements could be introduced in spintronics devices, in which the Mn moments would be switched under modest external excitation.

The interest of giving active functions to antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials in spintronics devices has been realized recently. Mn{sub 2}Au is a high-Néel temperature antiferromagnet with large Mn moment, lying in plane of the tetragonal structure. To determine the direction of the moments in Mn{sub 2}Au, an original approach is demonstrated, which should be generic to planar AFM materials. It involves the rotation of the granular sample around an axis perpendicular to the applied magnetic field. The family of easy moment directions is 〈110〉. For grains prevented from rotating, the dominant magnetization process is AFM domain wall motion. Textured Mn{sub 2}Au nanoelements could be introduced in spintronics devices, in which the Mn moments would be switched under modest external excitation.

Full Text Available We study the protein viability on Au nanoparticles during an electrospray and electrostatic-force-directed assembly process, through which Au nanoparticle-antibody conjugates are assembled onto the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs to fabricate carbon nanotube field-effect transistor (CNTFET biosensors. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA and field-effect transistor (FET measurements have been used to investigate the antibody activity after the nanoparticle assembly. Upon the introduction of matching antigens, the colored reaction from the ELISA and the change in the electrical characteristic of the CNTFET device confirm that the antibody activity is preserved during the assembly process.

In this paper, we report the precise control of the size, shape and surface morphology of Au-Pt nanocatalysts (cubes, blocks, octahedrons and dogbones) synthesized via a seed-mediated approach. Gold 'seeds' of different aspect ratios (1 to 4.2), grown by a silver-assisted approach, were used as templates for high-yield production of novel Au-Pt nanocatalysts at a low temperature (40 C). Characterization by electron microscopy (SEM, TEM, HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), UV-Vis spectroscopy, zeta-potential (surface charge), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were used to better understand their physico-chemical properties, preferred reactivities and underlying nanoparticle growth mechanism. A rotating disk electrode was used to evaluate the Au-Pt nanocatalysts electrochemical performance in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) of direct methanol fuel cells. The results indicate the Au-Pt dogbones are partially and in some cases completely unaffected by methanol poisoning during the evaluation of the ORR. The ORR performance of the octahedron particles in the absence of MeOH is superior to that of the Au-Pt dogbones and Pt-black, however its performance is affected by the presence of MeOH.

In this study we report a direct, atomic-resolution imaging of calcined Au24Pd1 clusters supported on multiwall carbon nanotubes by employing aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. Using gold atoms as mass standards, we confirm the cluster size to be 25 ± 2, in agreement with the Au24Pd1(SR)18 precursor used in the synthesis. Concurrently, a Density-Functional/Basin-Hopping computational algorithm is employed to locate the low-energy configurations of free Au24Pd1 cluster. Cage structures surrounding a single core atom are found to be favored, with a slight preference for Pd to occupy the core site. The cluster shows a tendency toward elongated arrangements, consistent with experimental data. The degree of electron transfer from the Pd dopant to Au is quantified through a Löwdin charge analysis, suggesting that Pd may act as an electron promoter to the surrounding Au atoms when they are involved in catalytic reactions.

On 1 November 2002, the new tariffs for the utilisation of the public power transmission and distribution networks, defined by decree no 2002-1014 of 19 July 2002, will come into effect. A new contract for access to the transmission network has been drawn up in co-operation with the Energy Regulation Commission (CRE) so as to be able to include these new tariffs. This new contract also takes into account the expectations expressed by the users of the transmission network concerning the energy delivery agreement used since the coming into effect of the European Directive on the opening of the electricity market in February 1999. On 31 October 2002, RTE is publishing a new version of the contract for access to the Public Transmission Networks. On 4 August 2003, RTE updated the particular conditions of the contract for access to the public transmission networks. This update takes into account the French regulator's deliberation dated 22/05/03, on the handling of eligible sites indirectly connected to public transmission systems. This document is a model form of the particular conditions of the contract. It comprises the following parts: purpose and contractual perimeter, connection to the public transportation network, metering and deductions, subscribed power, development, exploitation and maintenance of facilities, power continuity and quality, liability, tariffing and conditions of payment, declaration of the balancing actor, general dispositions. 7 models of forms of notification, demand, authorization, agreement, declaration etc.. are given in appendixes.

In this paper, we present a novel approach for the electrochemical detection of S-captopril based on graphene AuAg nanostructures used to modify an Au electrode. Multi-layer graphene (Gr) sheets decorated with embedded bimetallic AuAg nanoparticles were successfully synthesized catalytically with methane as the carbon source. The two catalytic systems contained 1.0 wt% Ag and 1.0 wt% Au, while the second had a larger concentration of metals (1.5 wt% Ag and 1.5 wt% Au) and was used for the synthesis of the Gr-AuAg-1 and Gr-AuAg-1.5 multicomponent samples. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis indicated the presence of graphene flakes that had regular shapes (square or rectangular) and dimensions in the tens to hundreds of nanometers. We found that the size of the embedded AuAg nanoparticles varied between 5 and 100 nm, with the majority being smaller than 20 nm. Advanced scanning transmission electron microscopy studies indicated a bimetallic characteristic of the metallic clusters. The resulting Gr-AuAg-1 and Gr-AuAg-1.5 samples were used to modify the surface of commonly used Au substrates and subsequently employed for the direct electrochemical oxidation of S-captopril. By comparing the differential pulse voltammograms recorded with the two modified electrodes at various concentrations of captopril, the peak current was determined to be well-defined, even at relatively low concentration (10(-5) M), for the Au/Gr-AuAg-1.5 electrode. In contrast, the signals recorded with the Au/Gr-AuAg-1 electrode were poorly defined within a 5×10(-6) to 5×10(-3) M concentration range, and many of them overlapped with the background. Such composite materials could find significant applications in nanotechnology, sensing, or nanomedicine.

The jet fragmentation function is measured with direct photon-hadron correlations in p+p and Au+Au collisions at √[s(NN)]=200 GeV. The p(T) of the photon is an excellent approximation to the initial p(T) of the jet and the ratio z(T)=p(T)(h)/p(T)(γ) is used as a proxy for the jet fragmentation function. A statistical subtraction is used to extract the direct photon-hadron yields in Au+Au collisions while a photon isolation cut is applied in p+p. I(AA), the ratio of hadron yield opposite the photon in Au+Au to that in p+p, indicates modification of the jet fragmentation function. Suppression, most likely due to energy loss in the medium, is seen at high z(T). The associated hadron yield at low z(T) is enhanced at large angles. Such a trend is expected from redistribution of the lost energy into increased production of low-momentum particles.

The jet fragmentation function is measured with direct photon-hadron correlations in p+p and Au+Au collisions at sNN=200GeV. The pT of the photon is an excellent approximation to the initial pT of the jet and the ratio zT=pTh/pTγ is used as a proxy for the jet fragmentation function. A statistical subtraction is used to extract the direct photon-hadron yields in Au+Au collisions while a photon isolation cut is applied in p+p. IAA, the ratio of hadron yield opposite the photon in Au+Au to that in p+p, indicates modification of the jet fragmentation function. Suppression, most likely due to energy loss in the medium, is seen at high zT. The associated hadron yield at low zT is enhanced at large angles. Such a trend is expected from redistribution of the lost energy into increased production of low-momentum particles.

The jet fragmentation function is measured with direct photon-hadron correlations in p+p and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. The p_T of the photon is an excellent approximation to the initial p_T of the jet and the ratio z_T=p_T^h/p_T^\\gamma is used as a proxy for the jet fragmentation function. A statistical subtraction is used to extract the direct photon-hadron yields in Au+Au collisions while a photon isolation cut is applied in p+p. I_ AA, the ratio of jet fragment yield in Au+Au to that in p+p, indicates modification of the jet fragmentation function. Suppression, most likely due to energy loss in the medium, is seen at high z_T. The fragment yield at low z_T is enhanced at large angles. Such a trend is expected from redistribution of the lost energy into increased production of low-momentum particles.

The atomic structure of the Au 6 x 6 on Si(111) phase has been determined using direct methods and surface X-ray diffraction data. This surface structure is very complicated, with 14 independent gold atoms, relaxations in 24 independent silicon sites and three partially occupied gold sites. In on...... the gold structures in the coverage range 0.8-1.5 monolayers as pseudo-glasses with strong short-range order but varying degrees of long-range order. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.......The atomic structure of the Au 6 x 6 on Si(111) phase has been determined using direct methods and surface X-ray diffraction data. This surface structure is very complicated, with 14 independent gold atoms, relaxations in 24 independent silicon sites and three partially occupied gold sites. In one...

Directed flow of deuterons, tritons, {sup 3}He, and {sup 4}He is studied in Au+Au collisions at a beam momentum of 10.8AthinspGeV/c. Flow of all particles is analyzed as a function of transverse momentum for different centralities of the collision. The directed flow signal, v{sub 1}(p{sub t}), is found to increase with particle mass. This mass dependence is strongest in the projectile rapidity region. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}

Full Text Available Abstract Graphene nanosheets were prepared using a modified Hummer's method, and Au-graphene nanocomposites were fabricated by in situ reduction of a gold salt. The as-produced graphene was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM. In particular, the HR-TEM demonstrated the layered crystallites of graphene with fringe spacing of about 0.32 nm in individual sheets and the ultrafine facetted structure of about 20 to 50 nm of Au particles in graphene composite. Scanning helium ion microscopy (HIM technique was employed to demonstrate direct write deposition on graphene by lettering with gaps down to 7 nm within the chamber of the microscope. Bare graphene and graphene-gold nanocomposites were further characterized in terms of their composition and optical and electrical properties.

Full Text Available Florina Pogacean,1 Alexandru R Biris,2 Maria Coros,1 Mihaela Diana Lazar,1 Fumiya Watanabe,3 Ganesh K Kannarpady,3 Said A Farha Al Said,4 Alexandru S Biris,3 Stela Pruneanu1 1Department of Isotopic Physics and Technology, 2Department of Mass Spectrometry, Chromatography, and Applied Physics, National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 3Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA; 4Department of Physics, College of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Abstract: In this paper, we present a novel approach for the electrochemical detection of S-captopril based on graphene AuAg nanostructures used to modify an Au electrode. Multi-layer graphene (Gr sheets decorated with embedded bimetallic AuAg nanoparticles were successfully synthesized catalytically with methane as the carbon source. The two catalytic systems contained 1.0 wt% Ag and 1.0 wt% Au, while the second had a larger concentration of metals (1.5 wt% Ag and 1.5 wt% Au and was used for the synthesis of the Gr-AuAg-1 and Gr-AuAg-1.5 multicomponent samples. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis indicated the presence of graphene flakes that had regular shapes (square or rectangular and dimensions in the tens to hundreds of nanometers. We found that the size of the embedded AuAg nanoparticles varied between 5 and 100 nm, with the majority being smaller than 20 nm. Advanced scanning transmission electron microscopy studies indicated a bimetallic characteristic of the metallic clusters. The resulting Gr-AuAg-1 and Gr-AuAg-1.5 samples were used to modify the surface of commonly used Au substrates and subsequently employed for the direct electrochemical oxidation of S-captopril. By comparing the differential pulse voltammograms recorded with the two modified electrodes at various concentrations of captopril, the peak current

Direct photons have been measured in sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV d+Au collisions at midrapidity. A wide p_T range is covered by measurements of nearly-real virtual photons (1direct photons in d+Au collisions over the scaled p+p cross section is consistent with unity. Theoretical calculations assuming standard cold nuclear matter effects describe the data well for the entire p_T range. This indicates that the large enhancement of direct photons observed in Au+Au collisions for 1.0

Micro-supercapacitors with small size, light weight, flexibility while maintaining high energy and power output are required for portable miniaturized electronics. The fabrication methods and materials should be cost-effective, scalable, and easily integrated to current electronic industry. Carbon materials have required properties for high-performance flexible supercapacitors, including high specific surface areas, electrochemical stability, and high electrical conductivity, as well as the high mechanical tolerance. Laser direct writing method is a non-contact, efficient, single-step fabrication technique without requirements of masks, post-processing, and complex clean room, which is a useful patterning technique, and can be easily integrated with current electronic product lines for commercial use. Previously we have reported micro-supercapacitors fabricated by laser direct writing on polyimide films in air or Ar, which showed highcapacitive performance. However, the conductivity of the carbon materials is still low for fast charge-discharge use. Here, we demonstrated the fabrication of flexible carbon/Au composite high-performance MSCs by first laser direct writing on commercial polyimide films followed by spin-coating Au nanoparticles ink and second in-situ laser direct writing using the low-cost semiconductor laser. As-prepared micro-supercapacitors show an improved conductivity and capacitance of 1.17 mF/cm2 at a high scanning rate of 10,000 mV/s, which is comparable to the reported capacitance of carbon-based micro-supercapacitors. In addition, the micro-supercapacitors have high bend tolerance and long-cycle stability.

In this work, a hierarchical DNA-directed self-assembly strategy to construct structure-controlled Au nanoassemblies (NAs) has been demonstrated by conjugating Au nanoparticles (NPs) with internal-modified dithiol single-strand DNA (ssDNA) (Au-B-A or A-B-Au-B-A). It is found that the dithiol-ssDNA-modified Au NPs and molecule quantity of thiol-modified ssDNA grafted to Au NPs play critical roles in the assembly of geometrically controlled Au NAs. Through matching Au-DNA self-assembly units, geometrical structures of the Au NAs can be tailored from one-dimensional (1D) to quasi-2D and 2D. Au-B-A conjugates readily give 1D and quasi-2D Au NAs while 2D Au NAs can be formed by A-B-Au-B-A building blocks. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements and 3D finite-difference time domain (3D-FDTD) calculation results indicate that the geometrically controllable Au NAs have regular and linearly “hot spots”-number-depended SERS properties. For a certain number of NPs, the number of “hot spots” and accordingly enhancement factor of Au NAs can be quantitatively evaluated, which open a new avenue for quantitative analysis based on SERS technique.

Results are presented of an ongoing analysis of direct photon production in VsNN = 200 GeV deuteron-gold collisions (d+Au) with the STAR experiment at RHIC. A significant excess of direct photons is observed near mid-rapidity (0

The designing and fabrication of economically viable electro-catalysts for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) in direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) has been one of the challenging issues over the decades. The present work deals with controlled synthesis of Pd coupled Au nano structure, as the non Pt group of catalysts for DEFC. The catalytic proficiency of bimetallic NPs (2-10 nm) are found to be strongly dependent on the Pd:Au ratio. The over voltage of EOR is considerably reduced by ∼260 mV with 33% of Au content in PdAu composition compared to Pd alone, demonstrating the beneficial role of Au and/or its surface oxides providing oxygen species at much lower potentials compared to Pd. The catalysts are further subjected to electrochemical analysis through voltammetry along with the temperature study on activation parameters. The quantitative determination of EOR products during the electrolysis is carried out by ion chromatographic analysis; vis-a-vis the coulombic efficiency of the product yield were derived from each of the compositions. Furthermore, a strong correlation among catalytic performances and bimetallic composition is established by screening the catalysts in an in-house fabricated direct ethanol anion exchange membrane fuel cell, DE(AEM)FC. The performance testing demonstrates outstanding increase of peak power density (∼40 mWcm-2, 93%) for the best accomplishment Au (33%) covered Pd (67%) catalyst in comparison with the monometallic Pd.

We demonstrate a new approach for forming hybrid metal/carbonaceous nanostructures in a controlled direct laser planting process. Au-Ag nanoclusters in amorphous or crystalline carbonaceous matrices are formed with different morphology: nanoparticles, nanoflakes, and nanoflowers. In contrast to other generation techniques our approach is simple, involving only a single laser-induced process transforming supramolecular complexes dissolved in solvent such as acetone, acetophenone, or dichloroethane into hybrid nanostructures in the laser-affected area of the substrate. The morphology of the hybrid nanostructures can be steered by controlling the deposition parameters, the composition of the liquid phase and the type of substrate, amorphous or crystalline. The carbonaceous phase of the hybrid nanostructures consists of hydrogenated amorphous carbon in the case of nanoparticles and of crystalline orthorhombic graphite of nanoscale thickness in the case of flakes and flowers. To the best of our knowledge this is t...

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured 2nd and 3rd order Fourier coefficients of the azimuthal distributions of direct photons emitted at midrapidity in Au$+$Au collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV for various collision centralities. Combining two different analysis techniques, results were obtained in the transverse momentum range of $0.4

Time-dependent diffusion for Ag and Au metal atoms was measured using the scanning tunneling microscope break-junction technique in ambient conditions. We observed that Ag contacts do not form long single-atomic chains compared to Au contacts during the elongation of each metal electrode, and Ag atoms diffuse more quickly than Au atoms after metal contact rupture. This is consistent with previous results of molecular dynamic simulations. Further, we found a correlation between diffusion length and the evolution time on an atomic scale to reveal the time-dependent diffusion for Ag and Au metal atoms.

Full Text Available We report the direct virtual photon invariant yields in the transverse momentum ranges 16 GeV/c the production follows TAA scaling. Model calculations with contributions from thermal radiation and initial hard parton scattering are consistent within uncertainties with the direct virtual photon invariant yield.

The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has measured the centrality dependence of the direct photon yield from Au +Au collisions at √{sNN}=200 GeV down to pT=0.4 GeV /c . Photons are detected via photon conversions to e+e- pairs and an improved technique is applied that minimizes the systematic uncertainties that usually limit direct photon measurements, in particular at low pT. We find an excess of direct photons above the Ncoll-scaled yield measured in p +p collisions. This excess yield is well described by an exponential distribution with an inverse slope of about 240 MeV /c in the pT range 0.6 -2.0 GeV /c . While the shape of the pT distribution is independent of centrality within the experimental uncertainties, the yield increases rapidly with increasing centrality, scaling approximately with Npartα, where α =1.38 ±0.03 (stat )±0.07 (syst ) .

The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has measured the centrality dependence of the direct photon yield from Au$+$Au collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV down to $p_T=0.4$ GeV/$c$. Photons are detected via photon conversions to $e^+e^-$ pairs and an improved technique is applied that minimizes the systematic uncertainties that usually limit direct photon measurements, in particular at low $p_T$. We find an excess of direct photons above the $N_{\\rm coll}$-scaled yield measured in $p$$+$$p$ collisions. This excess yield is well described by an exponential distribution with an inverse slope of about 240 MeV/$c$ in the $p_T$ range from 0.6--2.0 GeV/$c$. While the shape of the $p_T$ distribution is independent of centrality within the experimental uncertainties, the yield increases rapidly with increasing centrality, scaling approximately with $N_{\\rm part}^\\alpha$, where $\\alpha=1.48{\\pm}0.08({\\rm stat}){\\pm}0.04({\\rm syst})$.

Electromagnetic probes such as direct photons and dileptons are crucial to study the properties of a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) created in heavy ion collisions. Based on the (3+1)-dimensional event-by-event viscous hydrodynamic model EPOS 3.102, we calculated the anisotropic emission of thermal photons and dileptons in Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) energy $\\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$~GeV. Thermal emissions from both QGP phase and hadronic gas phase are considered, with AMY rate for photons and Lattice QCD based rates for dileptons in QGP phase. For emission from hadron gas phase, rates based vector meson dominant model are used for both photons and dileptons. Non-thermal contribution to direct photons is calculated with next to leading order QCD. STAR cocktail data are directly used for non-thermal contribution to dileptons. With the same space-time evolution of the collision systems, the two penetrating probes, photons and dileptonsshow some consistency, ie, the emission of both thermal...

We have addressed here electron transfer (ET) of Pyrococcus furiosus ferredoxin (PfFd, 7.5 kDa) in both homogeneous solution using edge plane graphite (EPG) electrodes and in the adsorbed state by electrochemistry on surface-modified single-crystal Au(111) electrodes, This has been supported...... surface modified by the same functional group monolayer and to address diffusionless direct electrochemistry, as well as surface microstructures of the protein monolayer. PfFd molecules were found to assemble on either mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) or cysteine-modified Au(111) surfaces in stable monolayers...

After the first world war, the most important research laboratory is placed under the direction of a woman: Marie Curie. She leads a voluntarist policy to weave links with industry, the medical profession, and public authorities. In this network, circulate men, women, radium samples,calibration certificates, money, measuring instruments. (N.C.)

This technical sheet on the connection of a photovoltaic installation to the electric network, provides information on the operating of such an installation, the possibilities of installation on a building, the possible subsidies, types of connection, environmental impacts, the electric power production, the cost estimation, the maintenance and life time and the administrative procedures. (A.L.B.)

The specific interactions between neurons and guidance factors as well as the mechanism of axonal navigation toward a target in the developing brain are not well understood. To address this problem we present a new approach for controlling the adhesion, growth and interconnectivity of cortical neurons on Au surfaces. Specifically, we use AFM nanolithography to immobilize extracellular matrix proteins at well-defined locations on Au surfaces, and show that these protein patterns can confine neuronal cells and control their growth and interconnectivity. We will compare this method with other nanofabrication techniques and discuss its main advantages: 1) the procedure is carried out in aqueous solutions, so that the proteins retain their bioactivity, 2) a high degree of control over location and shape of the protein patterns can be achieved, and 3) the minimum protein feature size can be as small as 50nm.

We present the first measurement of charge-dependent directed flow in Cu+Au collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV. The results are presented as a function of the particle transverse momentum and pseudorapidity for different centralities. A finite difference between the directed flow of positive and negative charged particles is observed that qualitatively agrees with the expectations from the effects of the initial strong electric field between two colliding ions with different nuclear charges. The measured difference in directed flow is much smaller than that obtained from the parton-hadron-string-dynamics (PHSD) model, which suggests that most of the electric charges, i.e. quarks and antiquarks, have not yet been created during the lifetime of the strong electric field, which is of the order of, or less than, 1fm/$c$.

We present the first measurement of charge-dependent directed flow in Cu +Au collisions at √{sN N }=200 GeV . The results are presented as a function of the particle transverse momentum and pseudorapidity for different centralities. A finite difference between the directed flow of positive and negative charged particles is observed that qualitatively agrees with the expectations from the effects of the initial strong electric field between two colliding ions with different nuclear charges. The measured difference in directed flow is much smaller than that obtained from the parton-hadron-string-dynamics model, which suggests that most of the electric charges, i.e., quarks and antiquarks, have not yet been created during the lifetime of the strong electric field, which is of the order of, or less than, 1 fm /c .

The azimuthal distribution of identified pi^0 and inclusive photons has been measured in sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions with the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The second harmonic parameter (v_2) was measured to describe the observed anisotropy of the azimuthal distribution. The measured inclusive photon v_2 is consistent with the expected hadron decay and is also consistent with the lack of direct photon signal over the measured p_T range 1-6 GeV/c. An attempt is made to extract v_2 of direct photons.

Bimetallic nanoparticles are of immense scientific and technological interest given the synergistic properties observed when two different metallic species are mixed at the nanoscale. This is particularly prevalent in catalysis, where bimetallic nanoparticles often exhibit improved catalytic activity and durability over their monometallic counterparts. Yet despite intense research efforts, little is understood regarding how to optimize bimetallic surface composition and structure synthetically using rational design principles. Recently, it has been demonstrated that peptide-enabled routes for nanoparticle synthesis result in materials with sequence-dependent catalytic properties, providing an opportunity for rational design through sequence manipulation. In this study, bimetallic PdAu nanoparticles are synthesized with a small set of peptides containing known Pd and Au binding motifs. The resulting nanoparticles were extensively characterized using high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and high-energy X-ray diffraction coupled to atomic pair distribution function analysis. Structural information obtained from synchrotron radiation methods was then used to generate model nanoparticle configurations using reverse Monte Carlo simulations, which illustrate sequence dependence in both surface structure and surface composition. Replica exchange with solute tempering molecular dynamics simulations were also used to predict the modes of peptide binding on monometallic surfaces, indicating that different sequences bind to the metal interfaces via different mechanisms. As a testbed reaction, electrocatalytic methanol oxidation experiments were performed, wherein differences in catalytic activity are clearly observed in materials with identical bimetallic composition. Taken together, this study indicates that peptides could be used to arrive at bimetallic surfaces with enhanced catalytic properties, which could be leveraged

Here we describe the first seedless synthesis of vinyl-terminated Au nanotriangular prisms (AuNTPs) and nanooctahedra (AuNOC) in aqueous media. This synthesis is performed by chemical reduction of chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) with 3-butenoic acid (3BA) in the presence of benzyldimethylammonium chloride (BDAC). The principal novelties of the presented method are the use of a mixture of 3BA and BDAC, the synthesis of gold prisms and octahedra with controllable size, and the presence of terminal double bonds on the metal surface. Initially this method produces a mixture of triangular gold nanoprisms and octahedra; however, both morphologies are successfully separated by surfactant micelle induced depletion interaction, reaching percentages up to ∼90%. Moreover, the alkene moieties present on the gold surface are exploited for the fabrication of hybrid core@shell particles. Gold octahedra and triangular prisms are easily encapsulated by free radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM). Finally, in order to obtain a gold core with the most number of tips, AuNTP@pNIPAM microgels were subjected to gold core overgrowth, thus resulting in star-shaped nanoparticles (AuSTs@pNIPAM). We use 4-amino-benzenethiol as the model analyte for SERS investigations. As expected, gold cores with tips and high curvature sites produced the highest plasmonic responses.

Monolayer tungsten disulfide （WS2）, a typical member of the semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide family has drawn considerable interest because of its unique properties. Intriguingly the edge of WS2 exhibits an ideal hydrogen binding energy which makes WS2 a potential alternative to Pt-based electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction （HER）. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the successful synthesis of uniform monolayer WS2 nanosheets on centimeter- scale Au foils using a facile, low-pressure chemical vapor deposition method. The edge lengths of the universally observed triangular WS2 nanosheets are tunable from -100 to N1,000 nm. The WS2 nanosheets on Au foils featuring abundant edges were then discovered to be efficient catalysts for the HER, exhibiting a rather high exchange current density of -30.20 μA/cm2 and a small onset potential of Nl10 mV. The effects of coverage and domain size （which correlate closely with the active edge density of WS2） on the electrocatalytic activity were investigated. This work not only provides a novel route toward the batch-production of monolayer WS2 via the introduction of metal foil substrates but also opens up its direct application for facile HER.

Alternate adsorption of positively charged colloid-Au nanoparticles (nano-Au(Ξ) and negatively charged hemoglobin (Hb) on L-cysteine (L-cys) modified gold electrode resulted in the assembly of {Hb/nano-Au(Ξ)}n layer-by-layer films/L-cys modified gold electrode. The nano-Au(Ξ) was characterized by transmission electron micrograph (TEM) and microelectrophoresis. The modified electrode interface morphology was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), cyclic voltammograms (CV) and chronoamperometry. Direct electron transfer between hemoglobin and gold electrodes was studied, and the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (Kappm) of the modified electrode was evaluated to be 0.10 mmol·L-1. Moreover, the higher activity of proteins in the nano-Au(Ξ)films could be retained compared with the electropolymerization membrane, since the proteins in nano-Au(Ξ) films retained their near-native structure. Direct electron transfer between hemoglobin and electrode and electrochemically catalyzed reduction of hydrogen peroxide on a modified electrode was studied, and the linear range was from 2.1×10-8 to 1.2 ×10-3 mol·L-1 (r = 0.994) with a detection limit of 1.1×10?8 mol·L-1 H2O2.

Full Text Available Using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM, we observed the bonding configuration of the metal-free phthalocyanine (H2Pc molecule adsorbed on the Au(111 surface. A local lattice formation started from a quasi-square lattice aligned to the close-packed directions of the Au(111 surface. Although we expected the lattice alignment to be equally distributed along the three crystallographically equivalent directions, the domain aligned normal to the ridge of the herringbone structure was missing in the STM images. We attribute this effect to the uniaxial contraction of the reconstructed Au(111 surface that can account for the formation of a large lattice domain along a single crystallographical direction.

We present MERLIN observations of Galactic 21-cm HI absorption at an angular resolution of c. 0.1-0.2 arcsec and a velocity resolution of 0.5 km/s, in the direction of three moderately low latitude (-8< b directions of the compact sources 3C138 and 3C147). The 0.1-arcsec scale is intermediate between HI absorption studies made with other fixed element interferometers with resolution of 1 to 10 arcsec and VLBI studies with resolutions of 10-20 milli-arcsec. At a scale of 1 arcsec (about 500 AU), prominent changes in Galactic HI opacity in excess of 1-1.5 are determined in the...

Highlights: • Three dimensional ordered macroporous magnetic electrode was newly used in electrochemical immunosensor. • The large surface area of macroporous magnetic electrode could improve the immobilized amount of antibody. • Au nanoparticles functionalized SBA-15 was used to immobilize enzyme labeled Ab₂ and enzyme. • Macroporous magnetic electrode and Au nanoparticles composite facilitated the direct electron transfer of enzyme. • The immunoassay avoided adding electron transfer mediator, simplifying the procedure. Abstract: A sandwich-type electrochemical immunosensor for the detection of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) antigen based on the immobilization of primary antibody (Ab₁) on three dimensional ordered macroporous magnetic (3DOMM) electrode, and the direct electrochemistry of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) that was used as both the label of secondary antibody (Ab₂) and the blocking reagent. The 3DOMM electrode was fabricated by introducing core–shell Au–SiO₂@Fe₃O₄ nanospheres onto the surface of three dimensional ordered macroporous (3DOM) Au electrode via the application of an external magnet. Au nanoparticles functionalized SBA-15 (Au@SBA-15) was conjugated to the HRP labeled secondary antibody (HRP-Ab₂) through the Au–SH or Au–NH₃⁺ interaction, and HRP was also used as the block reagent. The formation of antigen–antibody complex made the combination of Au@SBA-15 and 3DOMM exhibit remarkable synergistic effects for accelerating direct electron transfer (DET) between HRP and the electrode. Under the optimal conditions, the DET current signal increased proportionally to CA 19-9 concentration in the range of 0.05 to 15.65 U mL⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.01 U mL⁻¹. Moreover, the immunosensor showed high selectivity, good stability, satisfactory reproducibility and regeneration. Importantly, the developed method was used to assay clinical serum specimens, achieving a good relation with those obtained from

In this article, we studied the surface noble metal modification on Pd nanoparticles, other than the homogeneous or core-shell structure. The surface modification will lead to the uneven constitution within the nanoparticles and thus more obvious optimization effect toward the catalyst brought by the lattice deformation. The surface of the as-prepared Pd nanoparticles was modified with Ru, Pt or Au by a moderate and green approach, respectively. XPS results confirm the interactive electron effects between Pd and the modified noble metal. Electrochemical measurements show that the surface noble metal modified catalysts not only show higher catalytic activity, but also better stability and durability. The PdM/C catalysts all exhibit good dispersion and very little agglomeration after long-term potential cycles toward ethanol oxidation. With only 10% metallic atomic ratio of Au, PdAu/C catalyst shows extraordinary catalytic activity and stability, the peak current reaches 1700 mA mg{sup −1} Pd, about 2.5 times that of Pd/C. Moreover, the PdAu/C maintains 40% of the catalytic activity after 4500 potential cycles. - Highlights: • Pd-based catalysts with complicated exposed facets. • Much enhanced electrocatalytic activity and stability with about 10% noble metal M (M = Ru, Pt, Au) on Pd nanoparticles. • The outstanding electrocatalytic performance of PdAu/C towards ethanol oxidation after the Au modification.

An observer study for direct comparison of clinical efficacy of electronic to film portal images and their incorporation in a network. To directly compare the clinical efficacy of electronic to film portal images and the advantages of comparing directly on the monitor the simulation image and the portal image. Material and methods. - This study was designed to compare clinical efficacy of electronic to film portal images acquired using a liquid matrix ion-chamber electronic portal imaging device (EPID) and a conventional film system. Two radiation oncologists served as observers and evaluated a total of 30 sets of images for three different treatment sites: lung, pelvis, and head/neck. Each set of images included a simulation image, a portal film, a video paper print of electronic portal images, and a video prints of electronic portal images. Four to six anatomical landmarks were selected from each treatment site. Each observer was asked to rate each landmark in terms of its clinical visibility and to rate the ease of making the pertinent verification decision in the corresponding electronic and film portal images with the aid of the simulation image. The time needed to obtain and analyse a conventional portal image and an EPID would be analysed for the radiotherapist and the medical technicians. Results- Ratings for the visibility of landmarks and for the verification decision of treatment ports were similar for electronic and film images for most landmarks. However, vertebral bodies and several landmarks in the pelvis such as the acetabulum and pubic symphysis were more visible in the electronic portal images than in the portal film images. For the medical technicians, the EPID is more comfortable, and they do not need to develop any images. Conclusion. -The visibility of landmarks in electronic portal images is comparable to that in film portal images. Verification of treatment ports based only on electronic portal images acquired using an electronic portal

Forecasting the in situ properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from remote images is expected to strongly enhance predictions of space weather and is of general interest for studying the interaction of CMEs with planetary environments. We study the feasibility of using a single heliospheric imager (HI) instrument, imaging the solar wind density from the Sun to 1 AU, for connecting remote images to in situ observations of CMEs. We compare the predictions of speed and arrival time for 22 CMEs (in 2008-2012) to the corresponding interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) parameters at in situ observatories (STEREO PLASTIC/IMPACT, Wind SWE/MFI). The list consists of front- and backsided, slow and fast CMEs (up to 2700 km s{sup –1}). We track the CMEs to 34.9 ± 7.1 deg elongation from the Sun with J maps constructed using the SATPLOT tool, resulting in prediction lead times of –26.4 ± 15.3 hr. The geometrical models we use assume different CME front shapes (fixed-Φ, harmonic mean, self-similar expansion) and constant CME speed and direction. We find no significant superiority in the predictive capability of any of the three methods. The absolute difference between predicted and observed ICME arrival times is 8.1 ± 6.3 hr (rms value of 10.9 hr). Speeds are consistent to within 284 ± 288 km s{sup –1}. Empirical corrections to the predictions enhance their performance for the arrival times to 6.1 ± 5.0 hr (rms value of 7.9 hr), and for the speeds to 53 ± 50 km s{sup –1}. These results are important for Solar Orbiter and a space weather mission positioned away from the Sun-Earth line.

Azimuthal anisotropy of direct photon is measured in (√SNN)=200GeV Au+Au collisions at RHICPHENIX. Direct photon is one of the most effective probes to study properties of hot dence medium at initial state (also QGP state) of heavy ion collisions because photons almost do not interact strongly with any other particles caused by its long mean free path and they keep their conditions when they are created. Within statistical and systematic errors, the elliptic flow parameter (v2) of direct photon is consistent with zero.Direct photon v2 is estimated by hadron decay photon contamination are subtracted from inclusive photon v2 in intermediate to high transverse momentum (pT) region (0 to 10GeV/c) for 3 centrality selections (20% steps) and minimum bias.

We present an original type of model electrode system consisting of bimetallic Au-Ag nanoparticles embedded in an amorphous carbon matrix with an extremely well-defined geometry of parallel, straight, cylindrical macropores. The samples are prepared in one step by direct laser deposition of the metal/carbon composite onto the inner walls of a porous ‘anodic’ alumina matrix serving as a template. The coating is homogeneous from top to bottom of the pores, and the amount of material deposited can be tuned by the duration of the deposition procedure. As a test system, we demonstrate that a bimetallic Ag-Au@C system is catalytically active for the electrochemical oxidation of glucose in alkaline solution, the anodic reaction of a direct glucose fuel cell. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic current density increases with the amount of Ag-Au@C NPs deposited, up to a point at which the pores are clogged with it. This type of model system allows for the systematic study of geometric effects in fuel cell electrodes. It can be generalized to a number of different nanoparticle compositions, and thereby, to various electrocatalytic reactions.

The QCD non-perturbative effects are among the main sources of uncertainty in our present knowledge of the Standard Model phenomenology. I will present some of the methods which can be used to study these effects, and I will particularly treat the case of lattice QCD. Effective theories can be combined to the lattice approach in order to study the chiral and the heavy quark sectors. I will give some examples of how these properties can be successfully applied to the quark flavour phenomenology. The coupling of heavy mesons to the pion is related to a non-perturbative quantity, noted g-bar, which is required to extract physical results from the effective theory combining both chiral and heavy quark symmetry. This coupling is also involved in the study of the form factors appearing in the heavy to light semi-leptonic decays. These heavy meson decays are used to extract some of the CKM matrix elements which are know, up to now, only with large uncertainties. Moreover, the chiral effects of heavy mesons depend on pion loops whose vertices are precisely the coupling g-bar. These are some of the reasons why the theoretical and experimental determination of this coupling is required. I will present the results of its studies on the lattice and I will compare them to those obtained through several other methods. I will therefore describe these different approaches, their limitations and possible improvements, both from the point of view of the method and of its application to the determination of the coupling g-bar. (author)

In this paper presents to study of the Pt and Pt-Ir monolayer that were deposited on core-shell Ni-Au nanoparticles supported on carbon. Catalysts with the following molar ratios were prepared: Pt and Pt{sub 65}Ir{sub 35}, Pt{sub 75}Ir{sub 2}5, Pt{sub 80}Ir{sub 20} and Pt{sub 85}Ir{sub 15}. The means particle sizes were in the range of 2 - 6 nm for all catalysts. The electrochemical properties examined in the ethanol and CO oxidation by cyclic voltammetry, and In situ IR spectroscopy measurements (SPAIRS) enabled to determine intermediates and reaction products as a function of the metallic compositions of catalysts. All of the catalysts were tested as anodes of a single direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) tests in 1.0 M ethanol solution. As a result, higher power densities were obtained with the core-shell particles in comparison to those issued from the commercial catalyst (Pt-ETEK). Thus, the maximum power densities at 90 deg C for the different systems are: (i) commercial C/Pt catalyst (E-TEK): ca. 0.010 W cm{sup -2}, C/Ni-Au-(Pt{sub 85}Ir{sub 15}): ca. 0.013 W cm{sup -2} and C/Ni-Au-Pt: ca. 0.018 W cm{sup -2} (all core-shell systems were normalization by Pt load). As a result, the performance of the core-shell nanoparticles is much better than that produced for the commercial catalyst and the C/Ni-Au-Pt system showed the best performance. (author)

Full Text Available A reagentless electrochemical biosensor for hydrogen peroxide was fabricated. The sensor carries a monolayer of nanocomplex composed of horseradish peroxidase and Au-nanoparticle, and responds to hydrogen peroxide through the highly efficient direct electron transfer at a mild electrode potential without any soluble mediator. Formation of the nanocomplex was studied with visible spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography. The sensor performance was analyzed based on a hydrodynamic electrochemical technique and enzyme kinetics. The sensor was applied to fabrication of sensors for glucose and uric acid through further modification of the nanocomplex-carrying electrode with the corresponding hydrogen peroxide-generating oxidases, glucose oxidase and urate oxidase, respectively.

We present the first measurement of charge-dependent directed flow in Cu+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV. The results are presented as a function of the particle transverse momentum and pseudorapidity for different centralities. A finite difference between the directed flow of positive and negative charged particles is observed that qualitatively agrees with the expectations from the effects of the initial strong electric field between two colliding ions with different nuclear charges. The measured difference in directed flow is much smaller than that obtained from the parton-hadron-string-dynamics model, which suggests that most of the electric charges, i.e., quarks and antiquarks, have not yet been created during the lifetime of the strong electric field, which is of the order of, or less than, 1 fm/c.

Qualitative comparison of source sizes from pi-Xi correlations analyses in d+Au and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200G GeV and sqrt(s_NN)=62 GeV is presented. For the most central Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV we report first quantitative results concerning size of the pi-Xi source and relative shift of the average emission points between pi and Xi showing that the homogeneity region of Xi source is smaller then that of pion and significantly shifted in the transverse direction.

Forecasting the in situ properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from remote images is expected to strongly enhance predictions of space weather, and is of general interest for studying the interaction of CMEs with planetary environments. We study the feasibility of using a single heliospheric imager (HI) instrument, imaging the solar wind density from the Sun to 1 AU, for connecting remote images to in situ observations of CMEs. We compare the predictions of speed and arrival time for 22 CMEs (in 2008-2012) to the corresponding interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) parameters at in situ observatories (STEREO PLASTIC/IMPACT, Wind SWE/MFI). The list consists of front- and backsided, slow and fast CMEs (up to $2700 \\: km \\: s^{-1}$). We track the CMEs to $34.9 \\pm 7.1$ degrees elongation from the Sun with J-maps constructed using the SATPLOT tool, resulting in prediction lead times of $-26.4 \\pm 15.3$ hours. The geometrical models we use assume different CME front shapes (Fixed-$\\Phi$, Harmonic Mean, S...

cRGD-directed, NIR-responsive and robust AuNR/PEG-PCL hybrid nanoparticles (cRGD-HNs) were designed and developed for targeted chemotherapy of human glioma xenografts in mice. As expected, cRGD-HNs had excellent colloidal stability. The in vitro release studies showed that drug release from DOX-loaded cRGD-HNs (cRGD-HN-DOX) was minimal under physiological conditions but markedly accelerated upon NIR irradiation at a low power density of 0.2 W/cm2, due to photothermally induced phase transition of PCL regime. MTT assays showed that the antitumor activity of cRGD-HN-DOX in αvβ3 integrin over-expressed human glioblastoma U87MG cells was greatly boosted by mild NIR irradiation, which was significantly more potent than non-targeting HN-DOX counterpart under otherwise the same conditions and was comparable or superior to free DOX, supporting receptor-mediated endocytosis mechanism. The in vivo pharmacokinetics studies showed that cRGD-HN-DOX had much longer circulation time than free DOX. The in vivo imaging and biodistribution studies revealed that cRGD-HN-DOX could actively target human U87MG glioma xenograft in nude mice. The therapeutic studies in human U87MG glioma xenografts exhibited that cRGD-HN-DOX in combination with NIR irradiation completely inhibited tumor growth and possessed much lower side effects than free DOX. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that all mice treated with cRGD-HN-DOX plus NIR irradiation survived over an experimental period of 48 days while control groups treated with PBS, cRGD-HN-DOX, cRGD-HNs with NIR irradiation, free DOX, or HN-DOX with NIR irradiation (non-targeting control) had short life spans of 15-40 days. Ligand-directedAuNR/PEG-PCL hybrid nanoparticles with evident tumor-targetability as well as superior spatiotemporal and rate control over drug release have emerged as an appealing platform for cancer chemotherapy in vivo.

"RESEAU MATER" is useful to monitor nosocomial infections in maternity and contributes to the decreasing trend of it, since its implementation. Specifically, this network demonstrates its efficiency in the control of endometritis following vaginal deliveries, but not in the control of urinary tract infections. The aim of this study is to determine whether the difference between the control of endometritis and of urinary tract infection could be explained by an unsuitable regression model or by an unsuitable care policy concerning urinary cares. This study includes (1) the analysis of historic data of the network and (2) the description of French guidelines for maternity cares and available evaluations, concerning endometritis and urinary tract infection prevention. Univariate and multivariate odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for the total study period of 1999-2013, for these infections and their risk factors. The endometritis frequency is decreasing, in association with no significant evolution of associated risk factors, but urinary tract infection frequency is constant, in association with a increasing trend of its risk factors such as intermittent catheterization and epidural analgesia. In French guidelines, all preventive measures against endometritis are clearly broadcasted by all field operators, and repeated audits have reinforced the control of their application. But preventive measures against urinary tract infection seem to be broadcasted exclusively in the circle of infection prevention agencies and not in the obstetrics societies or in the Health Ministry communication. Urinary tract infection prevention requires a clearer public and professional policy in favor of a more efficient urinary cares, with a specific target to maternity.

Directing molecular devices into pre-designed integrated electronic circuits while enforcing selectivity and hierarchy is an inherent challenge for molecular electronics. Here we explore ways to direct the assembly of electrically-active molecular monolayers into specific locations as well as controlling their internal organization. We have accomplished this by two consecutive surface reactions: (1) forming pentanedithiol (C5DT) domains within an inert alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on Au; and (2) selectively binding porphyrin derivatives to the C5DT domains. The C5DT domains were fabricated by phase segregation during co-adsorption from a mixed C5DT/dodecanethiol (C12) solution and nanografting with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). AFM revealed that co-absorbed and nanografted C5DT domains were in a standing-up phase and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) showed that their molecular organization within about 5 nm, 40 nm, 50 nm and 120 nm domains, was dependent upon the size of the domain, such that structure of the C5DT transitions from (\\sqrt{3} × \\sqrt{3} ) R30°, to (2 × 2), and ultimately to a disordered phase with increasing domain size. This is due to the varying degrees of influence of the surrounding C12; providing sufficient van der Waals interactions as well as a geometric confinement to stabilize the standing-up phase of the C5DT. Understanding the molecular configuration of dithiol SAMs affords their use as a reactive template to subsequently bind active head groups. As a proof of principle, porphyrins with a pendant pentafluorophenyl ring were attached to the C5DT domains by a ‘click’ reaction between the fluorinated ring and the free thiol on the surface. From AFM and STM, these porphyrin derivatives reacted selectively with the C5DT domains with some porphyrins binding directly to the C5DT, subsequently allowing additional localized porphyrin deposition through pi-stacking.

In these proceedings, we discuss recent results from d + Au collisions in PHENIX ridge related measurements and their possible hydrodynamic origin. We present the v{sub 2} at midrapidity and measurements of the pseudorapidity dependence of the ridge, distinguishing between the d-going and Au-going directions. We investigate the possible geometrical origin by comparing v{sub 2} in d + Au to that in p + Pb, Au + Au and Pb + Pb collisions. Future plans to clarify the role of geometry in small collision systems at RHIC are discussed.

We report the results of $v_1$ and $dv_1/dy$ near mid-rapidity for $\\Lambda$, $\\bar{\\Lambda}$, $K^{\\pm}$, $K_s^0$ and $\\phi$ in Au+Au collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{\\rm NN}}$ = 7.7, 11.5, 14.5, 19.6, 27 and 39~GeV using the STAR detector at RHIC. The $dv_1/dy$ of $\\Lambda$ is found to be consistent with that of the proton and shows a change in sign near $\\sqrt{s_{\\rm NN}} = 11.5$~GeV. The $v_{1}$ slope for $\\bar{\\Lambda}$, $\\bar{p}$ and $\\phi$ shows a similar trend for $\\sqrt{s_{\\rm NN}}$ $>$ 14.5~GeV, while below 14.5~GeV, $\\phi$ $v_{1}$ is consistent with zero but with a large uncertainty. The $dv_{1}/dy$ for net protons and net kaons is similar for $\\sqrt{s_{\\rm NN}} >$ 14.5~GeV, but they deviate at lower beam energies.

Collisions of very heavy nuclei 197Au + 197Au at the energy of 15A MeV has been studied with the improved quantum molecular dynamics model. The experimental mass distributions of ternary fission fragments for the system 197Au + 197 Au are reproduced well. The direct and sequential ternary fission modes are studied by the time dependent snapshots of typical ternary events. The analysis of deviation from Viola systematics indicates the nonstatistical feature of the ternary fission in these reactions.

Measurements of anisotropic flow Fourier coefficients ($v_n$) for inclusive charged particles and identified hadrons $\\pi^{\\pm}$, $K^{\\pm}$, $p$, and $\\bar{p}$ produced at midrapidity in Cu+Au collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV are presented. The data were collected in 2012 by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The particle azimuthal distributions with respect to different order symmetry planes $\\Psi_n$, for $n$~=~1, 2, and 3 are studied as a function of transverse momentum $p_T$ over a broad range of collisions centralities. Mass ordering, as expected from hydrodynamic flow, is observed for all three harmonics. The charged-particle results are compared to hydrodynamical and transport model calculations. We also compare these Cu$+$Au results with those in Cu$+$Cu and Au$+$Au collisions at the same $\\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$, and find that the $v_2$ and $v_3$, as a function of transverse momentum, follow a common scaling with $1/(\\varepsilon_n N_{\\rm part}^{1/3})$.

The study and the modeling of tram power networks require a system analysis. The use of several power-electronic converters in these networks significantly modifies both their topology and their function. Therefore, modeling methods developed in this thesis differ from traditional approaches, since a global analysis of a system should be linked with the study of its components.To satisfy the demands of the tram domain, this thesis develops modeling methods for transmission lines and transformers. Two levels of analysis are considered. Firstly, the tram power network is evaluated in relation to time. Secondly, an Iterative Harmonic Analysis (IHA) program is developed to compute the spectra of the system accurately. (author)

This book deals with the analysis of power electronic converters and of their conducted disturbances, in particular the emission of harmonic currents. The basic electrical and electrotechnical knowledge is recalled first (power distribution systems, transformers..) and then the different types of converters are presented in a first chapter and illustrated with a description and a numerical analysis of each of them: DC-DC, AC-AC, AC-DC and DC-AC converters. A second chapter is devoted to low voltage single-phase and tri-phase distribution systems and transformers. (J.S.)

This thesis presents the latest achievements regarding the Sr optical lattice clock experiment at LNESYRTE, Observatoire de Paris. After having described the general principles for optical lattice clocks and the operation of the clock in question, the emphasis is put on the features that have been added to the experiment since 2007. The most important new elements are an ultra-stable reference cavity for the clock laser, the development of a non-destructive detection technique, and the construction of a second Sr lattice clock. The ultra-stable cavity is constructed from a ULE spacer and fused silica mirrors and has shown a thermal noise floor at 6.5 * 10{sup -16}, placing it among the best in the world. The non-destructive detection is effectuated by a phase measurement of a weak probe beam that traverses the atoms placed in one arm of a Mach-Zender interferometer. The non-destructive aspect enables a recycling of the atoms from cycle to cycle which consequently increases the duty cycle, allowing for an increase of the stability of the clock. With these new tools the frequency stability is expected to be 2.2 * 10{sup -16}/{radical}{tau} for an optimized sequence. The most recent comparisons between the two Sr clocks reach an accuracy level of 10{sup -16} after about 1000 s, and this way we have been able to characterize lattice related frequency shifts with an unprecedented accuracy. The measurements ensure a control of lattice related effects at the 10{sup -18} level even for trap depths as large as 50E{sub r}. (authors)

The Liaoji Proterozoic rift is an inter- intracontinenatl rift developed from Archean granite- greenstone tectonic regime and contains many important mineral deposits of U, B, magnesite, Pb - Zn, Au, Ag, Co and P. These deposits were formed as the result of late mobilization, transportation and concentration of the previously enriched ore - forming materials in several ore- bearing formations formed during the rift stage. So the metallogeny of these deposits in the rift shows both inheritance and new generation of the ore - forming materials. In future ore - searching practice, attentions should be paid on the studies of the ore - bearing formations in the rift, on the multiple stages of metallogeny and and on multiple derivations of the ore - forming materials.

We report a measurement of high-p{sub T} inclusive {pi}{sup 0}, {eta}, and direct photon production in p + p and d + Au collisions at {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV at midrapidity (0 < {eta} < 1). Photons from the decay {pi}{sup 0} {yields} {gamma}{gamma} were detected in the Barrel Electromagnetic Calorimeter of the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The {eta} {yields} {gamma}{gamma} decay was also observed and constituted the first {eta} measurement by STAR. The first direct photon cross section measurement by STAR is also presented, the signal was extracted statistically by subtracting the {pi}{sup 0}, {eta}, and {omega}(782) decay background from the inclusive photon distribution observed in the calorimeter. The analysis is described in detail, and the results are found to be in good agreement with earlier measurements and with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations.

The evolution of charged-particle production in collisions of heavy ions at relativistic energies is investigated as function of centrality in a nonequilibrium-statistical framework. Precise agreement with recent d + Au and Au + Au data at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV is found in a Relativistic Diffusion Model with three sources for particle production. Only the midrapidity source comes very close to local equilibrium, whereas the analyses of the overall pseudorapidity distributions show that the systems remain far from statistical equilibrium.

Grouting jointed rock masses improves their water tightness and strength for civil infrastructure foundations such as hydroelectric dams. In North America, the most common method involves injecting grout in fractures at a pressure given by a rule of thumb of 25 kPa per meter of rock cover. The criterion used to define the limit pressure is conservative because it considers a state of stress due to gravity only and does not take into account the geomechanical characteristics of the rock mass and the properties of the injection grout. The objective of this study is to verify the influence of geomechanical parameters on maximum injection pressures and compare it to the empirical criterion of 25 kPa /m using UDEC, a distinct element code for 2D modelling of fractured rock masses. The hydrojacking mechanism during fracture injection is sensitive not only to the grout pressure but also to its rheological parameters as well as the strength and the opening of the fractures. In this study, grouting in different rock mass models is simulated with conditions (constant-width fractures openings and horizontal stress equivalent to the vertical stress) favorable to hydrojacking. With the numerical model, hydrojacking was observed at injection pressures slightly higher than those prescribed by the industry. The jacking mechanism is mainly related to fractures near the surface. Because the model does not include the possibility of introducing time dependent grout parameters, grout flows at larger distances than what is observed in the field. In addition, the two-dimensional model has certain limitations and requires assumptions restricting the direct transposition of results to the field due to the complexity of fracture geometries and the grout spreading in 3D. A relative comparison of limit grouting pressures is nonetheless possible and it highlights the effects of certain geomechanical parameters on its magnitude.

Events with more than two heavy fragments have been abundantly observed in heavy-ion semi-peripheral (fission-like) reaction 197Au+197Au at 15 MeV/nucleon. This raised interesting questions about their origin and about the time-scale at which they occur. As a possible explanation of this process, the surface instability of the cylindrical neck that is formed along the path from contact to reseparation of the rotating Au+Au system is investigated in the present paper. For this purpose the Los Alamos finite-range macroscopic dynamical model was used. The calculations were performed at relatively high angular momenta, L = 100 to 300 ħ, for two types of dissipation mechanisms: two-body viscosity and one-body dissipation. Various initial nuclear deformations and initial kinetic energies in the fission direction were considered. The resulting dynamical evolution in the multidimensional deformation space always led to multifragment scission configurations suggesting that ternary and quaternary break-up can occur during the heavy-ion reaction studied.

Full Text Available We describe a multiscale modeling hierarchy for the particular case of Au-island ripening on Au(100. Starting at the microscopic scale, density functional theory was used to investigate a limited number of self-diffusion processes on perfect and imperfect Au(100 surfaces. The obtained structural and energetic information served as basis for optimizing a reactive forcefield (here ReaxFF, which afterwards was used to address the mesoscopic scale. Reactive force field simulations were performed to investigate more diffusion possibilities at a lower computational cost but with similar accuracy. Finally, we reached the macroscale by means of kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC simulations. The reaction rates for the reaction process database used in the kMC simulations were generated using the reactive force field. Using this strategy, we simulated nucleation, aggregation, and fluctuation processes for monoatomic high islands on Au(100 and modeled their equilibrium shape structures. Finally, by calculating the step line tension at different temperatures, we were able to make a direct comparison with available experimental data.

Passive components used in integrated optics have been a subject of extensive research in the last few years. The fabrication of optical planar waveguides is mainly done by lithography which includes several chemical processes and the use of photo-masks. However, this fabrication technique requires a significant investment in infrastructure since specialized installations are necessary to carry out the processing using several sequential steps. Other emergent techniques of direct laser writing have to some extent addressed the issue of reducing the number of steps involved. Silica is one of the materials most used for manufacturing optical planar circuits. Silica has a strong absorption at 10,6 mum which is the wavelength of the CO2 laser. The goal of this thesis is to show the possibility of manufacturing optical waveguides by a new technique based on a direct writing scheme using CW CO2 laser, in silica thin films on silicon deposited by PECVD. Instead of writing the waveguide by changing the refractive index of the material, this new technique ablates by the laser adjacent grooves on both sides of what becomes the core of the waveguide. The width and the depth of these grooves can be controlled by modifying the spatial profile of the laser beam and by altering the experimental parameters such as the irradiated power and the writing speed. The zone thermally affected by the laser was studied and the results showed a decrease in the refractive index of the glass close to the guiding layer. The waveguides fabricated in a few seconds by this technique, are thus buried and exhibit low insertion losses. The experimental results and simulations obtained by the Beam Propagation Method (BPM) lead us to the optimization of the direct writing process using a CO2 laser to fabricate waveguides and thus allow the manufacturing of a 1 x 4 power splitter based on the multimode interferences principle. The optical performances of the power splitter are comparable with devices

Two Au fixed points filled using metal of different nominal purities in carbon crucibles have been developed at the National Research Council Canada (NRC). The primary motivation behind this project was to provide the means for direct thermocouple calibrations at the Au freezing point (1064.18°C). Using a Au fixed point filled with the metal of maximum available purity [99.9997 % pure according to glow discharge mass spectroscopy (GDMS)], multiple freezing plateaus were measured in a commercial high-temperature furnace. Four Pt/Pd thermocouples constructed and calibrated in-house were used to measure the freezing plateaus. From the calibration at Sn, Zn, Al and Ag fixed points, the linear deviation function from the NIST-IMGC reference function (IEC 62460:2008 Standard) was determined and extrapolated to the freezing temperature of Au. For all the Pt/Pd thermocouples used in this study, the measured EMF values agree with the extrapolated values within expanded uncertainty, thus substantiating the use of 99.9997 % pure Au fixed point cell for thermocouple calibrations at NRC. Using the Au fixed point filled with metal of lower purity (99.99 % pure according to GDMS), the effect of impurities on the Au freezing temperature measured with Pt/Pd thermocouple was further investigated.

Based on a preliminary sample of Au + Au collisions in the EOS time projection chamber at the Bevalac, we study sideward flow as a function of bombarding energy between 0.25A GeV and 1.2A GeV. We focus on the increase in in-plane transverse momentum per nucleon with fragment mass. We also find event shapes to be close to spherical in the most central collisions, independent of bombarding energy and fragment mass up to {sup 4}He.

We show that thymine self-assembles into an ordered structure when adsorbed at a Au(110)/liquid interface. Reflection anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) shows that as found for cytosine and adenine the adsorbed thymine molecules are oriented essentially vertically on the Au(110) surface with the molecule aligned along one of the principal axes of the Au(110) surface. Simulations of the RA spectra to an empirical model indicates that as found for adsorbed cytosine and adenine, thymine is aligned along the [1 anti 10] direction on the Au(110) surface. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Since 2000, thousands of young Filipino migrants have come to Denmark as au pairs. Officially, they are there to “broaden their cultural horizons” by living temporarily with a Danish host family, but they also conduct domestic labor in exchange for food and money, which allows them to send import...... the Danish au pair scheme therefore speaks to current research on domestic work migration, the transnational family relations of young Filipina migrants and the forms of self-transformation that Filipino migration might engender.......Since 2000, thousands of young Filipino migrants have come to Denmark as au pairs. Officially, they are there to “broaden their cultural horizons” by living temporarily with a Danish host family, but they also conduct domestic labor in exchange for food and money, which allows them to send...... ethnographic component of the dissertation consists of four articles, all emphasizing the au pairs’ agency by viewing their migration as a dynamic personal and social experience. Arguing that Filipina au pairs tend to be understood primarily from the perspective of their precarious situation as domestic...

Monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), which is a semiconducting material with direct band gap of ˜1.8 eV, has drawn much attention for application in field effect transistors (FETs). In this connection, it is very important to understand the Fermi level pinning (FLP) which occurs at metal-semiconductor interfaces. It is known that MoS2 has an n-type contact with Au, which is a high work function metal, representing the strong FLP at Au-MoS2 interfaces. However, such FLP can obstruct the attainment of high performance of field effect devices. In this study, we investigate the reduction of FLP at Au-MoS2 interfaces by atomic passivation on Au(111) using first-principles calculations. To reduce the FLP at Au-MoS2 interfaces, we consider sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, and hydrogen atoms that can passivate the surface of Au(111). Calculations show that passivating atoms prevent the direct contact between Au(111) and MoS2, and thus FLP at Au-MoS2 interfaces is reduced by weak interaction between atom-passivated Au(111) and MoS2. Especially, FLP is greatly reduced at sulfur-passivated Au-MoS2 interfaces with the smallest binding energy. Furthermore, fluorine-passivated Au(111) can form ohmic contact with MoS2, representing almost zero Schottky barrier height (SBH). We suggest that SBH can be controlled depending on the passivating atoms on Au(111).

The spin transport properties of S-Au-S junction and Au-Au-Au junction between Au nanowires are investigated with density functional theory and the non-equilibrium Green's function. We mainly focus on the spin resonance transport properties of the center Au atom. The breaking of chemical bonds between anchor atoms and center Au atom significantly influences their spin transmission characteristics. We find the 0.8 eV orbital energy shift between anchor S atoms and the center Au atom can well protect the spin state stored in the S-Au-S junction and efficiently extract its spin state to the current by spin resonance mechanism, while the spin interaction of itinerant electrons and the valence electron of the center Au atom in the Au-Au-Au junction can extract the current spin information into the center Au atom. Fermi energy drift and bias-dependent spin filtering properties of the Au-Au-Au junction may transform information between distance, bias, and electron spin. Those unique properties make them potential candidates for a logical nanocircuit. Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grants No. 2011CB921602) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 20121318158).

Au is usually viewed as an inert metal, but surprisingly it has been found that Au nanoparticles less than 3–5 nm in diameter are catalytically active for several chemical reactions. We discuss the origin of this effect, focusing on the way in which the chemical activity of Au may change with par......Au is usually viewed as an inert metal, but surprisingly it has been found that Au nanoparticles less than 3–5 nm in diameter are catalytically active for several chemical reactions. We discuss the origin of this effect, focusing on the way in which the chemical activity of Au may change...... with particle size. We find that the fraction of low-coordinated Au atoms scales approximately with the catalytic activity, suggesting that atoms on the corners and edges of Au nanoparticles are the active sites. This effect is explained using density functional calculations....

The magnetic susceptibility of liquid Cr-Au, Mn-Au, Fe-Au and Cu-Au alloys was investigated as a function of temperature and composition. Liquid Cr{sub 1-c}Au{sub c} with 0.5 ≤ c and Mn{sub 1-c}Au{sub c} with 0.3≤c obeyed the Curie-Weiss law with regard to their dependence of χ on temperature. The magnetic susceptibilities of liquid Fe-Au alloys also exhibited Curie-Weiss behavior with a reasonable value for the effective number of Bohr magneton. On the Au-rich side, the composition dependence of χ for liquid TM-Au (TM=Cr, Mn, Fe) alloys increased rapidly with increasing TM content, respectively. Additionally, the composition dependences of χ for liquid Cr-Au, Mn-Au, and Fe-Au alloys had maxima at compositions of 50 at% Cr, 70 at% Mn, and 85 at% Fe, respectively. We compared the composition dependences of χ{sub 3d} due to 3d electrons for liquid binary TM-M (M=Au, Al, Si, Sb), and investigated the relationship between χ{sub 3d} and E{sub F} in liquid binary TM-M alloys at a composition of 50 at% TM.

This report makes first a status about the historical specificities, the present day situation and the perspectives of evolution of public utilities in networks with respect to the European directive of 1996 and to the 4 sectors of electricity, gas, railway transport and postal service. Then, it wonders about the new institutions and regulation procedures to implement to conciliate the public utility mission with the honest competition. (J.S.)

A stable gel of Au nanoparticles in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposite is prepared by employing the curing agent of PDMS elastomer as a reducing agent for the formation of Au nanoparticles by an in-situ process. The viscoelastic nature of these gels is very sensitive to the Au nanoparticle loading and the synthetic temperature conditions. Even a very low Au content of 0.09 wt% is sufficient enough to bring in the transition from sponge state to gel state at room temperature. Higher synthetic temperature also forms sponge formation. Infrared and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy measurements have provided insight into PDMS crosslinking and nanoparticle formation, respectively. The optimization of the gel properties can have direct influence on the processability of Au nanoparticle–PDMS nanocomposite gels, with interesting implications in electronic, optical and microfluidic devices.

We report on the fabrication and characterization of CdTe thin-film solar cells with Cu-free MoO3- x /Au back contacts. CdTe solar cells with sputtered CdTe absorbers of thicknesses from 0.5 to 1.75 μm were fabricated on Pilkington SnO2:F/SnO2-coated soda-lime glasses coated with a 60- to 80-nm sputtered CdS layer. The MoO3- x /Au back contact layers were deposited by thermal evaporation. The incorporation of MoO3- x layer was found to improve the open circuit voltage ( V OC) but reduce the fill factor of the ultrathin CdTe cells. The V OC was found to increase as the CdTe thickness increased.

We present here a technological platform for engineering Au nanotopographies by templated electrodeposition on antibacterial surfaces. Three different types of nanostructures were fabricated: nanopillars, nanorings and nanonuggets. The nanopillars are the basic structures and are 50 nm in diameter and 100 nm in height. Particular arrangement of the nanopillars in various geometries formed nanorings and nanonuggets. Flat surfaces, rough substrate surfaces, and various nanostructured surfaces were compared for their abilities to attach and kill bacterial cells. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a Gram-positive bacterial strain responsible for many infections in health care system, was used as the model bacterial strain. It was found that all the Au nanostructures, regardless their shapes, exhibited similar excellent antibacterial properties. A comparison of live cells attached to nanotopographic surfaces showed that the number of live S. aureus cells was health care system, was used as the model bacterial strain. It was found that all the Au nanostructures, regardless their shapes, exhibited similar excellent antibacterial properties. A comparison of live cells attached to nanotopographic surfaces showed that the number of live S. aureus cells was information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr06157a

Distribution networks have become increasingly complex to manage and potentially labor-intensive to operate safely and efficiently. Remote monitoring enables the operator to continually monitor the performance of the system from a central point(s). Where the system operates outside known parameters, the operator can respond very quickly. Remote control provides the additional functionality of enabling plant to be operated from a central point(s) directly or indirectly via operator. Communication can be through one or a combination of different communication media. The whole system for operation of gas distribution network may be looked at as 5-level general model based on ISO proposals adapted for modern control and management systems. The structure and requirements imposed on such a system are described in this paper. (authors)

Within the SARNET Severe Accident Research Network of excellence, the Corium topic covers all the behaviour of corium (mixture formed by the molten materials arising from a postulated nuclear reactor severe accident) from early phase of core degradation to in or ex-vessel corium recovery with the exception of corium interaction with water, direct containment heating and fission product release. The Corium topic regroups in three work packages the critical mass of competence to improve significantly the corium behaviour knowledge. The spirit of the SARNET networking is to share the knowledge, the facilities and the simulation tools for severe accidents, so to reach a better efficiency and to rationalize the R and D effort at European level. Extensive benchmarking has been launched in most of the areas of research. These benchmarks were mainly dedicated to the recalculation of analytical experiments, integral experiments or reactor applications. Eventually, all the knowledge will be accumulated in the ASTEC severe accident simulation code through physical model improvements and extension of validation database. This report summarizes the progress that has been achieved in the frame of the networking activities for the four and half years of the FP6 project. (authors)

Ferromagnetic metallic nanowires are of high interest for magnetic sensing and storage applications. However, due to surface oxidation of the nanowires electrical contacts easily lead to high-contact resistances of a few k{omega}. Here, we present multisegmented Au-Ni(NiO)-Au nanowires with a directAu-Ni interface. Individual nanowires were laterally contacted in a four-terminal geometry via optical lithography, electron-beam lithography, thermal evaporation and lift-off patterning. The nanowires exhibit low-ohmic contacts of about 20 {omega}. The resistivity decreases with the temperature (300 K to 4.2 K) and is in the order of that of high-purity bulk nickel. The longitudinal anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) is about 1.5 % at 80 K and decreases with higher temperatures, 0.5 % at 300 K. The coercive field and the AMR are investigated for different angles between the current and magnetic field.

Full Text Available The Turkevich synthesis method of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs was adopted for direct fabrication of SiO2@Au and TiO2@Au core-shell nanostructures. In this method, chloroauric acid was reduced with trisodium citrate in the presence of amine-functionalized silica or titania submicroparticles. Core-shells obtained in this way were compared to structures fabricated by mixing of Turkevich AuNPs with amine-functionalized silica or titania submicroparticles. It was found that by modification of reaction conditions of the first method, such as temperature and concentration of reagents, control over gold coverage on silicon dioxide particles has been achieved. Described method under certain conditions allows fabrication of semicontinuous gold films on the surface of silicon dioxide particles. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing use of Turkevich method to direct fabrication of TiO2@Au core-shell nanostructures.

Ethnographers are increasingly making use of Facebook to acquire access and general acquaintance with their field of study. However, little has been written on how Facebook is used methodologically in research that does not have social media sites as the main focus of interest. This article argues...... that engagement with Facebook as a methodological tool can be useful in research among migrants in highly politicised fields. Pointing to a discursive construction of Filipina au pairs as victims of labour exploitation, the article shows how fieldwork on Facebook enables the exploration of the ways in which...... and on Facebook....

Ethnographers are increasingly making use of Facebook to acquire access and general acquaintance with their field of study. However, little has been written on how Facebook is used methodologically in research that does not have social media sites as the main focus of interest. This article argues...... that engagement with Facebook as a methodological tool can be useful in research among migrants in highly politicised fields. Pointing to a discursive construction of Filipina au pairs as victims of labour exploitation, the article shows how fieldwork on Facebook enables the exploration of the ways in which...... and on Facebook....

The gold(I) selenolate compound [Au(2)(SePh)(2)(mu-dppf)] (dppf = 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene) has been prepared by reaction of [Au(2)Cl(2)(mu-dppf)] with PhSeSiMe(3) in a molar ratio 1:2. This complex reacts with gold(I) or gold(III) derivatives to give polynuclear gold(I)-gold(I) or gold(I)-gold(III) complexes of the type [Au(4)(mu-SePh)(2)(PPh(3))(2)(mu-dppf)](OTf)(2), [Au(3)(C(6)F(5))(3)(mu-SePh)(2)(mu-dppf)], or [Au(4)(C(6)F(5))(6)(mu-SePh)(2)(mu-dppf)], with bridging selenolate ligands. The reaction of [Au(2)(SePh)(2)(mu-dppf)] with 1 equiv of AgOTf leads to the formation of the insoluble Ag(SePh) and the compound [Au(2)(mu-SePh)(mu-dppf)]OTf. The complexes [Au(4)(C(6)F(5))(6)(mu-SePh)(2)(mu-dppf)] and [Au(2)(mu-SePh)(mu-dppf)]OTf (two different solvates) have been characterized by X-ray diffraction studies and show the presence of weak gold(I)-gold(III) interactions in the former and intra- and intermolecular gold(I)-gold(I) inter-actions in the later.

Experiments are carried out in order to study {sup 106} RU transfers through a freshwater ecosystem including 2 abiotic compartments (water and sediment) and 3 trophic levels (10 species). Experimental results are expressed mathematically so as they can be included into a global model which is then tested in two different situations. The comparison of the available data concerning the in situ measured concentrations to the corresponding calculated ones validates the whole procedure. Analysis of the so validated results lightens ruthenium distribution process in the environment. The rare detection of this radionuclide in organisms living in areas contaminated by known meaningful releases can be explained by a relativity high detection limit and by a slight role of the sediment as a secondary contamination source. (author). 78 figs., 18 tabs.

A decision support system for the definition of wind turbine systems is developed by taking into account the wind and site characteristics, the wind turbine components and the electrical network properties close to the site. The approach is based on functional analysis, on the investigation of the functional fluxes and on the definition of a model suitable for supporting decision at the preliminary stages of wind turbine design. The complete set of solutions derived from the model is determined using a Constraint Satisfaction Problem solver. The intrinsic capability of the model to support decision is derived from the investigation of the model parsimony, precision, exactness and specialization. The model takes into account performance criteria resulting from knowledge of manufacturers, distributors and investors. These criteria are used to discriminate design alternatives. Design alternatives correspond to choices of site (wind, electric network) and wind turbine architectures (related to 7 design variables). Performance criteria are the cost of electric kWh, the amount of energy being produced and the discounted total cost of the project. Electric network connection to wind turbines is taken into account through slow variations of the voltage and Flickers phenomenon. First, the maximal rate of penetration of the wind turbine energy production is determined. Next, two design alternatives have been investigated to improve wind turbine system integration in electric distribution networks. These alternatives are a reactive power control system and an inertial energy storage system. Inertial storage systems seem to be more expensive than reactive power control systems for this type of application. The influence of site specificities on decision making process has been established through three different sites (a Mediterranean site and two sites located in northern Europe). Profits relative to the cost of kWh appear to be high for Mediterranean sites. Most of the design variables defining wind turbine architectures have a great influence on this cost. Investigations corroborate the necessity to adapt technological choices to the requirements of electric distribution network. Penetration rates may be greatly improved for the sites characterized by high 'X/R' ratios using variable speed systems. (author)

Atomic fountains, based on a microwave transition of Cesium or Rubidium, constitute the state of the art atomic clocks, with a relative accuracy close to 10{sup -16}. It nevertheless appears today that it will be difficult to go significantly beyond this level with this kind of device. The use of an optical transition, the other parameters being unchanged, gives hope for a 4 or 5 orders of magnitude improvement of the stability and of the relative uncertainty on most systematic effects. As for motional effects on the atoms, they can be controlled on a very different manner if they are trapped in an optical lattice instead of experiencing a free ballistic flight stage, characteristic of fountains. The key point of this approach lies in the fact that the trap can be operated in such a way that a well chosen, weakly allowed, J=0 {yields} J=0 clock transition can be free from light shift effects. In this respect, the strontium atom is one of the most promising candidate, the 1S{sub 0} {yields} 3P{sub 0} transition has a natural width of 1 mHz, and several other easily accessible transitions can be used to efficiently laser cool atoms down to 10 {mu}K. This thesis demonstrates the experimental feasibility of an optical lattice clock based on the strontium atom, and reports on a preliminary evaluation of the relative accuracy with the fermionic isotope {sup 87}Sr, at a level of a few 10{sup -15}. (author)

This report presents the implementation of the ion cyclotron resonance heating system (FCI) to the instrumentation and control system of the Tore-Supra tokamak. The new plasma heating system involves 3 antennas delivering 12 MW that are required to maintain fusion reactions. This paper is divided into 8 chapters: 1) thermonuclear fusion and Tore-Supra tokamak; 2) hardware system around Tore-Supra, in this chapter the control system and the data acquisition and processing systems are presented; 3) functional analysis, this analysis defines the different needs concerning timing and pilot-controlling, a preliminary proposition of hardware equipment is made; 4) operating modes of FCI; 5) communication within the control system network; 6) communication with the supervisory system of the power stations; 7) management of data exchange with SMX generators; and 8) control of the rate of stationary waves during the injection of power into the plasma.

We report on $J/\\psi$ production from asymmetric Cu+Au heavy-ion collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at both forward (Cu-going direction) and backward (Au-going direction) rapidities. The nuclear modification of $J/\\psi$ yields in Cu$+$Au collisions in the Au-going direction is found to be comparable to that in Au$+$Au collisions when plotted as a function of the number of participating nucleons. In the Cu-going direction, $J/\\psi$ production shows a stronger suppression. This difference is comparable in magnitude and has the same sign as the difference expected from shadowing effects due to stronger low-$x$ gluon suppression in the larger Au nucleus. The relative suppression is opposite to that expected from hot nuclear matter dissociation, since a higher energy density is expected in the Au-going direction.

Full Text Available Magnetic holes (MHs are depressions of the magnetic field magnitude. Turner et al. (1977 identified the first MHs in the solar wind and determined an occurrence rate of 1.5 MHs/d. Winterhalter et al. (1994 developed an automatic identification criterion to search for MHs in Ulysses data in the solar wind between 1 AU and 5.4 AU. We adopt their criterion to expand the search to the heliocentric distances down to 0.3 AU using data from Helios 1 and 2 and up to 17 AU using data from Voyager 2. We relate our observations to two theoretical approaches which describe the so-called linear MHs in which the magnetic vector varies in magnitude rather than direction. Therefore we focus on such linear MHs with a directional change less than 10º. With our observations of about 850 MHs we present the following results: Approximately 30% of all the identified MHs are linear. The maximum angle between the initial magnetic field vector and any vector inside the MH is 20º in average and shows a weak relation to the depth of the MHs. The angle between the initial magnetic field and the minimum variance direction of those structures is large and very probably close to 90º. The MHs are placed in a high β environment even though the average solar wind shows a smaller β. The widths decrease from about 50 proton inertial length in a region between 0.3 AU and 0.4 AU heliocentric distance to about 15 proton inertial length at distances larger than 10 AU. This quantity is correlated with the β of the MH environments with respect to the heliocentric distance. There is a clear preference for the occurrence of depressions instead of compressions. We discuss these results with regard to the main theories of MHs, the mirror instability and the alternative soliton approach. Although our observational results are more consistent with the soliton theory we favour a combination of both. MHs might be the remnants of initial mirror mode structures which can be described as

Herein, a new type of uniform and well-structured Au@Pt bimetallic nanoparticles (BNPs) with highly active concave Au nanocuboids (NCs) as seeds was successfully synthesized by using the classic seed-mediated method. Electrochemical measurements were conducted to demonstrate their greatly enhanced catalytic performance in the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). It was found that the electrochemical performance for Au@Pt BNPs with the concave Au NCs as seeds, which were enclosed by {611} high-index facets, could be seven times higher than that of the Au@Pt bimetallic nanoparticles with regular spherical Au NPs as seeds. Furthermore, our findings show that the morphology and electrocatalytic activity of the Au@Pt BNPs can be tuned simply by changing the compositional ratios of the growth solution. The lower the amount of H2PtCl6 used in the growth solution, the thinner the Pt shell grew, and the more high-index facets of concave Au NCs seeds were exposed in Au@Pt BNPs, leading to higher electrochemical activity. These as-prepared concave Au@Pt BNPs will open up new strategies for improving catalytic efficiency and reducing the use of the expensive and scarce resource of platinum in the ethanol oxidation reaction, and are potentially applicable as electrochemical catalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells.

Core-shell nanoparticles often exhibit improved catalytic properties due to the lattice strain created in these core-shell particles. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of core-shell Au@Pd nanoparticles from their core-shell Au@Ag/Pd parents. This strategy begins with the preparation of core-shell Au@Ag nanoparticles in an organic solvent. Then, the pure Ag shells are converted into the shells made of Ag/Pd alloy by galvanic replacement reaction between the Ag shells and Pd(2+) precursors. Subsequently, the Ag component is removed from the alloy shell using saturated NaCl solution to form core-shell Au@Pd nanoparticles with an Au core and a Pd shell. In comparison with the core-shell Au@Pd nanoparticles upon directly depositing Pd shell on the Au seeds and commercial Pd/C catalysts, the core-shell Au@Pd nanoparticles via their core-shell Au@Ag/Pd templates display superior activity and durability in catalyzing oxygen reduction reaction, mainly due to the larger lattice tensile effect in Pd shell induced by the Au core and Ag removal.

As an alternative to the time-consuming solder pre-forms and pastes currently used, a co-electroplating method of eutectic Au-Sn alloy was used in this study. Using a co-electroplating process, it was possible to plate the Au-Sn solder directly onto a wafer at or near the eutectic composition from a single solution. Two distinct phases, Au5Sn and AuSn, were deposited at a composition of 30at.%Sn. The Au-Sn flip-chip joints were formed at 300 and 400 degrees without using any flux. In the case where the samples were reflowed at 300 degrees, only an (Au,Ni)3Sn2 IMC layer formed at the interface between the Au-Sn solder and Ni UBM. On the other hand, two IMC layers, (Au,Ni)3Sn2 and (Au,Ni)3Sn, were found at the interfaces of the samples reflowed at 400 degrees. As the reflow time increased, the thickness of the (Au,Ni)3Sn2 and (Au,Ni)3Sn IMC layers formed at the interface increased and the eutectic lamellae in the bulk solder coarsened.

Highlights: • Highly transparent films of TiO{sub 2} nanotube arrays were directly fabricated on FTO glasses. • Semitransparent TNT-Au composite films were obtained and exhibited excellent photoelectrocatalytic ability. • Back-side of TNT-Au composite films was firstly irradiated and tested to compare with front-side of films. - Abstract: Semitransparent composite films of Au loaded TiO{sub 2} nanotubes (TNT-Au) were prepared by sputtering Au nanoparticles on highly transparent TiO{sub 2} nanotubes films, which were fabricated directly on FTO glasses by anodizing the Ti film sputtered on the FTO glasses. Compared with pure TNT films, the prepared TNT-Au films possessed excellent absorption ability and high photocurrent response and improved photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation. It could be concluded that Au nanoparticles played important roles in improving the photoelectrochemical performance of TNT-Au films. Moreover, in this work, both sides of TNT-Au films were researched and compared owing to theirs semitransparency. It was firstly found that the photoelectric activity of TNT-Au composite films with back-side illumination was obviously superior to front-side illumination.

The modes of ternary reaction of 197Au+197Au at an energy of 15A MeV are dynamically studied by the improved quantum molecular dynamics model. Three kinds of modes are found by the time evolution of the configurations of the composite reaction systems: One is the direct mode for which the two time separations of the system happen almost simultaneously. Another is the cascade mode for which a two-step process is clearly shown. The third is oblate mode, a kind of very rare fission event. In this case the composite system deforms to a triangle-like configuration with three necks, and then it forms three equally sized fragments along space-symmetric directions in the reaction plane.

We have measured the yields of antiprotons in Au+Au interactions in the rapidity range 1.2{lt}{ital y}{lt}2.8 as a function of centrality using a beam line spectrometer. The shapes of the invariant multiplicity distributions at {ital p}{sub {ital t}}=0 are used to explore the dynamics of antiproton production and annihilation. {copyright} {ital 1995} {ital The} {ital American} {ital Physical} {ital Society}.

Hydrophilic and biocompatible macromolecules were used to improve and simplify the process for the fabrication of core/shell SiO{sub 2}@Au composite particles. The influence of polymers on the morphology of SiO{sub 2}@Au particles with different size of SiO{sub 2} cores was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The optical property of the SiO{sub 2}@Au particles was studied with UV–Vis spectroscopy. The results indicate that the structure and composition of macromolecules affect the morphology of Au layers on SiO{sub 2} microspheres. The SiO{sub 2}@Au particles prepared in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) have thin and complete Au nanoshells owing to their inducing act in preferential growth of Au nanoparticles along the surface of SiO{sub 2} microspheres. SiO{sub 2}@Au particles can be also prepared from SiO{sub 2} microspheres modified with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane in the presence of PVA or PVP. This offers a simple way to fabricate a Au layer on SiO{sub 2} or other microspheres. The SiO{sub 2}@Au particles demonstrated high catalytic activity in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. - Highlights: • Facile direct deposition method for Au nanoparticles on silica microspheres. • Influence of different types of macromolecule on the formation of Au shell. • High catalytic performance of Au nanoparticles on silica microspheres.

The wavelength-dependent optical torques provided by a circularly polarized (CP) plane wave driving Au nanorod (NR) and nanowire (NW) to rotate constantly were studied theoretically. Using the multiple multipole method, the resultant torque in terms of Maxwell's stress tensor was analyzed. Numerical results show that the optical torque spectrum is in accordance with the absorption spectrum of Au NR/NW. Under the same fluence, the maximum optical torque occurs at the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Au NR/NW, accompanied by a severe plasmonic heating. The rotation direction of the light-driven NR/NW depends on the handedness of CP light. In contrast, the optical torque exerted on Au NR/NW illuminated by a linearly polarized light is null at LSPR. Due to the plasmonic effect, the optical torque on Au NR/NW by CP light is two orders of magnitude larger than that on a dielectric NR/NW of the same size. The steady-state rotation of NR/NW in water, resulting from the balance of optical torque and viscous torque, was also discussed. Our finding shed some light on manipulating a CP light-driven Au NR/NW as a rotating nanomotor for a variety of applications in optofluidics and biophysics.

Au-Zr binary system was reassessed by using the calculation phase diagram (CALPHAD) technique based on experimental thermodynamic data and newly reported phase diagrams. The excess Gibbs energies of the three terminal solutions and the liquid phases were formulated with Redlich-Kister polynomial. All the intermetallic phases were treated as stoichiometric compounds with the exception of ZrAu which is modeled by a two-sublattice model, (Au,Zr) : (Au, Zr). The results show that there exist seven intermetallics: Zr3Au, Zr2Au, Zr5Au4,Zr7Au10, ZrAu2 , ZrAu3, and ZrAu4 in the system. The eutectoid reaction: β(Zr) →α(Zr)+Zr3Au takes place at 1 048 K and the maximal solubility of Au in α-Zr is 4.7 % (mole fraction). The maximal solubility of Zr in Au is 6.0%(mole fraction) at 1 347 K. The homogeneity range of ZrAu phase is about 44.5%-52.9%(mole fraction) of Au. The present assessment fits experimental data very well.

We described a versatile approach for the synthesis of Au/MCM-41, Pd/MCM-41 and Au-Pd/MCM-41 by the direct incorporation of the noble metals into the MCM-41 framework. The structural, textural and chemical properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), N2-adsorption (BET and BJH methods), H2-chemisorption, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The nanomaterials, being comprised of Au, Pd and Au-Pd nanoparticles and possessing high surface areas were applied as versatile and efficient catalysts in benzene, toluene and o-xylene (BTX) oxidation and in the steam reforming of ethanol for hydrogen production. The results revealed that the catalytic behavior in both processes was influenced by the experimental conditions and the nature of the catalyst employed. The Au-Pd/MCM-41 catalyst was the most active in the BTX total oxidation. On the basis of characterization data, it was proposed that the close contact between Pd and Au and the higher dispersion of Pd may be responsible for the enhanced activity of the bimetallic catalyst. However, the strong interaction between the noble metals did not improve the performance of the bimetallic catalyst in ethanol steam reforming, the Pd/MCM-41 catalyst being the most active and selective for hydrogen production.

The results from the STAR Collaboration on directed flow ($v_1$), elliptic flow ($v_2$), and the fourth harmonic ($v_4$) in the anisotropic azimuthal distribution of particles from Au+Au collisions at $\\sqrtsNN = 200$ GeV are summarized and compared with results from other experiments and theoretical models. Results for identified particles are presented and fit with a Blast Wave model. For $v_2$, scaling with the number of constituent quarks and parton coalescence is discussed. For $v_4$, scaling with $v_2^2$ and quark coalescence predictions for higher harmonic flow is discussed. The different anisotropic flow analysis methods are compared and nonflow effects are extracted from the data.

Ternary events originating from the 197Au + 197Au reaction at 15 MeV/nucleon, studied by using the multidetector array CHIMERA at LNS Catania, have been collected in almost complete 2π range of the forward hemisphere of CHIMERA thus extending the angular range of our previously reported preliminary data. Energy- and time calibrations for heavy fragments at large angles were supplemented with an analysis of coincidence events of binary strongly damped reactions. Contrary to the previous preliminary results, the new complete data clearly show presence of sequential fission processes in which one of Au-like nuclei undergoes fission after re-separation of the primary binary system. Mechanism of these two types of reactions observed in our data, sequential fission reactions and prompt ternary processes, are presently studied using comparisons with predictions of the stochastic BNV model of Baran, Colonna and Di Toro and the QMD model of Łukasik.

@@ Ablation process of 1-kHz femtosecond lasers (pulse duration of 148 fs, wavelength of 775 nm) of Au film on silica substrates is studied. The thresholds for single and multi pulses can be obtained directly from the relation between the squared diameter D2 of the ablated craters and the laser fluence φo. From the plot of the accumulated laser fluence Nφth(N) and the number of laser pulses N, incubation coefficient of Au film is obtained to be 0.765. Some experimental data obtained around the single pulse threshold are in good agreement with the theoretical calculation.

Due to the potential of gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based trace analysis, the discrimination of small AuNP clusters with different assembling stoichiometry is a subject of fundamental and technological importance. Here we prepare oligomerized AuNPs with controlled stoichiometry through DNA-directed assembly, and demonstrate that AuNP monomers, dimers and trimers can be clearly distinguished using dark field microscopy (DFM). The scattering intensity for of AuNP structures with stoichiometry ranging from 1 to 3 agrees well with our theoretical calculations. This study demonstrates the potential of utilizing the DFM approach in ultra-sensitive detection as well as the use of DNA-directed assembly for plasmonic nano-architectures.

Most Filipina au pairs in Denmark send remittances back home, and for many, au pairing forms part of longer-term migration trajectories. This article explores how Filipina au pairs try to carve out a future for themselves abroad. It shows that they navigate within tight webs of financial interdep......Most Filipina au pairs in Denmark send remittances back home, and for many, au pairing forms part of longer-term migration trajectories. This article explores how Filipina au pairs try to carve out a future for themselves abroad. It shows that they navigate within tight webs of financial...

Charged particles have been observed in collisions of Au on Au at an incident energy of 150{ital A} MeV using a high-granularity detector system covering approximately the forward hemisphere in the center-of-mass system. Highly central collisions have been studied using a double selection criterion which combines large charged-particle multiplicities with small transverse-momentum directivities. In this class of events about one quarter of the total nuclear charge emerges as intermediate-mass fragments with nuclear charges {ital Z}{gt}2. These fragments are centered at midrapidity and are produced with large transverse velocities.

Charged particles have been observed in collisions of Au on Au at an incident energy of 150A MeV using a high-granularity detector system covering approximately the forward hemisphere in the center-of-mass system. Highly central collisions have been studied using a double selection criterion which combines large charged-particle multiplicities with small transverse-momentum directivities. In this class of events about one quarter of the total nuclear charge emerges as intermediate-mass fragments with nuclear charges Z>2. These fragments are centered at midrapidity and are produced with large transverse velocities.

Alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer (SAM) phases on Au(111) have been assumed to involve direct S head group bonding to the substrate. Using x-ray standing wave experiments, we show the thiolate actually bonds to gold adatoms; self-organization in these archetypal SAM systems must therefore be governed by the movement of these Au-S-R moieties on the surface between two distinct local hollow sites on the surface. The results of recent ab initio total energy calculations provide strong support for this description, and a rationale for the implied significant molecular mobility in these systems.

Selective-area growth of diamond films in microwave-plasma chemical vapor deposition was performed using newly developed masks. By forming chemically stable masks made of Ru/Au or Mo/Au, which have high melting points, good adhesion to diamond, and difficulty in forming carbide compounds, patterned diamond films with a large thickness of 50 µm, a large area of 5 mm2, and a high orientation in the [001] direction were successfully grown on (001) diamond substrates without degradation of the crystal quality of masked areas.

The negative-AU events are relatively unusual, which have caught our attention. To understand the cause of negative AU, we first eliminate the ring-current effect by considering only the events with AUFriis-Christensen et al. (1972) and Sumaruk & Feldstein (1973). Enhancement of electric jet in opposite direction is expected to be found when the IMF-By is positive. To verify their models we also examine the strong AU events with AU > 1200nT. We found that these large-AU events are associated with IMF-Bz0. Both negative-AU and large-AU events tend to occur during the beginning of the main phase of a strong magnetic storm with Kp= 7~9. The enhancement of Cowling electrojet has been proposed by Kan et al. (2011) for the triggering of substorm onset. We will discuss the possibility that a similar enhancement process might take place in the dayside auroral oval during these extreme AU events.

Au nanoparticles with plasmon resonances in the near-infrared (NIR) region of the spectrum efficiently convert light into heat, a property useful for the photothermal ablation of cancerous tumors subsequent to nanoparticle uptake at the tumor site. A critical aspect of this process is nanoparticle size, which influences both tumor uptake and photothermal efficiency. Here, we report a direct comparative study of ∼90 nm diameter Au nanomatryoshkas (Au/SiO2/Au) and ∼150 nm diameter Au nanoshells for photothermal therapeutic efficacy in highly aggressive triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) tumors in mice. Au nanomatryoshkas are strong light absorbers with 77% absorption efficiency, while the nanoshells are weaker absorbers with only 15% absorption efficiency. After an intravenous injection of Au nanomatryoshkas followed by a single NIR laser dose of 2 W/cm(2) for 5 min, 83% of the TNBC tumor-bearing mice appeared healthy and tumor free >60 days later, while only 33% of mice treated with nanoshells survived the same period. The smaller size and larger absorption cross section of Au nanomatryoshkas combine to make this nanoparticle more effective than Au nanoshells for photothermal cancer therapy.

The longstanding controversy between experiment and theory regarding which conformer of thiophenol, planar or perpendicular, is the most stable and what is the magnitude of the corresponding rotational barrier of the S-H group is discussed. We propose a variety of rather modest high-level computational methods within the density theory, which corroborate the experimental data. These methods demonstrate that the planar structure of thiophenol is the most stable and the magnitude of the rotational barrier falls within the experimental range of 3.35±0.84 kJ mol -1. However, the barrier is of the order of RT at room temperature, which might prevent to clearly identify the most stable conformer of thiophenol in experiments and leads to a large-amplitude motion of the thiolic hydrogen. On the other hand, such low value of the barrier may lead to some error in evaluating the thermodynamic properties of thiophenol within the rigid-rotor-harmonic oscillator model, in particular for the bond dissociation enthalpy. We also show the existence of a large entropy contribution to the Gibbs free energy difference between the planar and perpendicular conformers which is the order of the rotational barrier (≈4 kJ mol -1). This might be of interest for experimental study. The most stable complexes of thiophenol with the gold clusters Au 5 and Au 6 are also investigated. It is shown that the sulfur atom prefers to anchor to two- and three-coordinated atoms of gold in these clusters to form a strongly directional gold-sulfur bond. The hydrogen abstraction from the S-H group of thiophenol bonded to the two-coordinated gold atom in Au 5 yields the bridging Au-S dibond and results in a spectacular reduction of the bond dissociation energy of thiophenol by nearly a factor of three.

The present work proposes a theoretical method called ionization dynamics to derive the ionic charge state distribution. Using relativistic quantum mechanics to calculate the energy level lifetime and average ionic lifetime of each ion, the first-order ionization rate constant can be obtained. Based on these data, from the solution of differential equations for consecutive-irreversible ionization reactions, one will be able to derive the ionic charge state distribution.The calculated average positive charge 49.24 of Au48+ ～ Au52+ and their relative distribution are in good agreement with the results of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

May 3,2011 The African Union(AU),through its High-Level ad hoc Committee on the Situation in Libya and the Commission, is driven by the conviction that, ultimately,only a political solution will make it possible to promote,in a sustainable way,the legitimate aspira-

The electrical properties of single-molecule junctions, consisting of an organic molecule coupled to metal electrodes, are sensitive to the detailed atomic structure of the molecule-metal contact. This, in turn, is determined by the anchoring group linking the molecule to the metal. With the aim...... of identifying and comparing the intrinsic properties of two commonly used anchoring groups, namely thiol and amine groups, we have calculated the atomic structure and conductance traces of different Au-S-Au and Au-NH2-Au nanojunctions using density functional theory (DFT). Whereas NH2 shows a strong structural...... selectivity towards atop-gold configurations, S shows large variability in its bonding geometries. As a result, the conductance of the Au-NH2-Au junction is less sensitive to the structure of the gold contacts than the Au-S-Au junction. These findings support recent experiments which show that amine...

Two real ternary lithium gold indides LiAu 2In and Li 280Au 22In 130 (Li 0.65Au 0.05In 0.30) were found in the Li-Au-In system. They are isostructural to the respective Ag-alloys. LiAu 2In crystallizes in the MnCu 2Al-type structure ( Fm-3 m, Heusler phase, a=6.4982(8) Å, based on single crystal XRD-data) and Li 280Au 22In 130 in the Li 278Ag 40In 114-type structure ( F-43 m, a=19.9970(2) Å, based on powder XRD-data). The analogy of the two ternary systems Li-Au-In and Li-Ag-In is additionally reaffirmed by the wide homogeneity range of the pseudoternary solid solution with NaTl-type structure (Zintl phase),which expands not only in the direction of the quasibinary cut Li(Au xIn 1- x) with 0≤ x≤0.5, but also into the directions of both higher and lower Li-concentrations.

Glucose oxidase (GOx) adsorbed on an ionic liquid-derived polymer containing internally organized columns of Au nanoparticles exhibits direct electron transfer and bioelectrocatalytic properties towards the oxidation of glucose. The cationic poly(ionic liquid) provides an ideal substrate for the electrostatic immobilization of GOx. The encapsulated Au nanoparticles serve to both promote the direct electron transfer with the recessed enzyme redox centers and impart electronic conduction to the composite, allowing it to function as an electrode for electrochemical detection.

Plasmonic motifs with precise surface recognition sites are crucial for assembling defined nanostructures with novel functionalities and properties. In this work, a unique and effective strategy is successfully developed to pattern DNA recognition sites in a helical arrangement around a gold nanorod (AuNR), and a new set of heterogeneous AuNR@AuNP plasmonic helices is fabricated by attaching complementary-DNA-modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to the predesigned sites on the AuNR surface. AuNR is first assembled to one side of a bifacial rectangular DNA origami, where eight groups of capture strands are selectively patterned on the other side. The subsequently added link strands make the rectangular DNA origami roll up around the AuNR into a tubular shape, therefore giving birth to a chiral patterning of DNA recognition sites on the surface of AuNR. Following the hybridization with the AuNPs capped with the complementary strands to the capture strands on the DNA origami, left-handed and right-handed AuNR@AuNP helical superstructures are precisely formed by tuning the pattern of the recognition sites on the AuNR surface. Our strategy of nanoparticle surface patterning innovatively realizes hierarchical self-assembly of plasmonic superstructures with tunable chiroptical responses, and will certainly broaden the horizon of bottom-up construction of other functional nanoarchitectures with growing complexity.

Using the FOPI detector at GSI Darmstadt, excitation functions of collective flow components were measured for the Au+Au system, in the reaction plane and out of this plane, at seven incident energies ranging from 100AMeV to 800AMeV. The threshold energies, corresponding to the onset of sideward-flow (balance energy) and squeeze-out effect (transition energy), are extracted from extrapolations of these excitation functions toward lower beam energies for charged products with Z>2. The transition energy is found to be larger than the balance energy. The impact parameter dependence of both balance and transition energies, when extrapolated to central collisions, suggests comparable although slightly higher values than the threshold energy for the radial flow. The relevant parameter seems to be the energy deposited into the system in order to overcome the attractive nuclear forces.

Using the FOPI detector at GSI Darmstadt, excitation functions of collective flow components were measured for the Au+Au system, in the reaction plane and out of this plane, at seven incident energies ranging from 100 A MeV to 800 A MeV. The threshold energies, corresponding to the onset of sideward-flow (balance energy) and squeeze-out effect (transition energy), are extracted from extrapolations of these excitation functions toward lower beam energies for charged products with Z ⩾ 2. The transition energy is found to be larger than the balance energy. The impact parameter dependence of both balance and transition energies, when extrapolated to central collisions, suggests comparable although slightly higher values than the threshold energy for the radial flow. The relevant parameter seems to be the energy deposited into the system in order to overcome the attractive nuclear forces.

A hadron and string cascade model, JPCIAE, together with the corresponding Monte Carlo eventgenerator, has been employed in this paper to investigate further the charge fluctuations in Au+Au collisions at√Snn= 130 GeV. The default JPCIAE calculations are in good agreement with PHENIX and STAR data. Wefound that the thermal predictions for the π gas, the resonance π gas and quark matter deviate, respectively,from the corresponding dynamical simulations from the JPCIAE model. The discrepancies were also foundbetween the π charge fluctuations and the charge fluctuations of all species of hadrons. However the chargefluctuations for "π from ρ and ω decay" and for all the hadrons from resonance decay are close to each other,indicating the correlation between positively and negatively charged hadrons is not sensitive to the species ofhadrons. This work shows further that it is questionable to use the charge fluctuations as a signature of QGP.

Ternary fission in 197Au+197Au collisions at 15 A MeV is investigated by using the improved quantum molecular dynamical (ImQMD) model. The experimental mass distributions for each of the three fragments are reproduced for the first time without any freely adjusting parameters. The mechanisms of ternary fission in central and semi-central collisions are dynamically studied. In direct prolate ternary fission, two necks are found to be formed almost simultaneously and rupture sequentially in a very short time interval. Direct oblate ternary fission is a very rare fission event, in which three necks are formed and rupture simultaneously, forming three equally sized fragments along space-symmetric directions in the reaction plane. In sequential ternary fission a binary division is followed by another binary fission event after hundreds of fm/c.

Ternary fission in 197Au+197Au collisions at 15A MeV is investigated by using the improved quantum molecular dynamical (ImQMD) model.The experimental mass distributions for each of the three fragments are reproduced for the first time without any freely adjusting parameters.The mechanisms of ternary fission in central and semicentral collisions are dynamically studied.In direct prolate ternary fission,two necks are found to be formed almost simultaneously and rupture sequentially in a very short time interval.Direct oblate ternary fission is a very rare fission event,in which three necks are formed and rupture simultaneously,forming three equally sized fragments along space-symmetric directions in the reaction plane.In sequential ternary fission a binary division is followed by another binary fission event after hundreds of fm/c.

Synchrotron radiation soft x-ray photoemission spectroscopy was used to investigate the development of the electronic structure at the Au/CuInSe{sub 2} interface. Au overlayers were deposited in steps on single-crystal {ital p} and {ital n}-type CuInSe{sub 2} at ambient temperature. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction analysis before and during growth of the Au overlayers indicated that the Au overlayer was amorphous. Photoemission measurements were acquired after each growth in order to observe changes in the valence band electronic structure as well as changes in the In 4{ital d} and Se 3{ital d} core lines. The results were used to correlate the interface chemistry with the electronic structure at these interfaces and to directly determine the Au/CuInSe{sub 2} Schottky barrier height.

In this work, we utilize the galvanic displacement synthesis and make it a general and efficient method for the preparation of Au-M (M = Au, Pd, and Pt) core-shell nanostructures with porous shells, which consist of multilayer nanoparticles. The method is generally applicable to the preparation of Au-Au, Au-Pd, and Au-Pt core-shell nanostructures with typical porous shells. Moreover, the Au-Au isomeric core-shell nanostructure is reported for the first time. The lower oxidation states of Au(I), Pd(II), and Pt(II) are supposed to contribute to the formation of porous core-shell nanostructures instead of yolk-shell nanostructures. The electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance of porous Au-Pd core-shell nanostructures are assessed as a typical example for the investigation of the advantages of the obtained core-shell nanostructures. As expected, the Au-Pd core-shell nanostructure indeed exhibits a significantly reduced overpotential (the peak potential is shifted in the positive direction by 44 mV and 32 mV), a much improved CO tolerance (I(f)/I(b) is 3.6 and 1.63 times higher), and an enhanced catalytic stability in comparison with Pd nanoparticles and Pt/C catalysts. Thus, porous Au-M (M = Au, Pd, and Pt) core-shell nanostructures may provide many opportunities in the fields of organic catalysis, direct alcohol fuel cells, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, and so forth.

The compressibility of nanocrystalline gold (n-Au, 20 nm) has been studied by x-ray total scattering using high-energy monochromatic x-rays in the diamond anvil cell under quasi-hydrostatic conditions up to 71 GPa. The bulk modulus, K0, of the n-Au obtained from fitting to a Vinet equation of state is ~196(3) GPa, which is about 17% higher than for the corresponding bulk materials (K0: 167 GPa). At low pressures (GPa), the compression behavior of n-Au shows little difference from that of bulk Au. With increasing pressure, the compressive behavior of n-Au gradually deviates from the equation of state (EOS) of bulk gold. Analysis of the pair distribution function, peak broadening and Rietveld refinement reveals that the microstructure of n-Au is nearly a single-grain/domain at ambient conditions, but undergoes substantial pressure-induced reduction in grain size until 10 GPa. The results indicate that the nature of the internal microstructure in n-Au is associated with the observed EOS difference from bulk Au at high pressure. Full-pattern analysis confirms that significant changes in grain size, stacking faults, grain orientation and texture occur in n-Au at high pressure. We have observed direct experimental evidence of a transition in compressional mechanism for n-Au at ~20 GPa, i.e. from a deformation dominated by nucleation and motion of lattice dislocations (dislocation-mediated) to a prominent grain boundary mediated response to external pressure. The internal microstructure inside the nanoparticle (nanocrystallinity) plays a critical role for the macro-mechanical properties of nano-Au.

The magnetic and electrical transport properties of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene)-capped Au nanoparticles (NPs) doped with iodine have been investigated to clarify the effectiveness of conductive polymer capping on the induction of ferromagnetism in Au. The room-temperature magnetization curve of the undoped polythiophene-capped Au NPs exhibits a clear hysteresis behavior with a coercive force of 160 Oe. The spontaneous magnetization normalized by the mass of Au is 2.0 × 10-2 emu/g. The spontaneous magnetization was found virtually unaffected by iodine doping, whereas the electrical conductivity is enhanced dramatically to ˜10 S/cm. Our results show that polythiophene capping could lead to spontaneous magnetic polarization in Au NPs, and the conductivity of the polymer capping does not affect the ferromagnetism of the Au nanoparticles, opening a possibility for further investigation into the magnetotransport behavior of ferromagnetic Au NPs.

In this thesis, the neutron-deficient nucleus $^{178}$Au is investigated through decay spectroscopy. Si and HPGe detectors were used to analyse the decay radiation of $^{178}$Au and its daughter nuclei. Previous studies have been unable to distinguish decay radiation from different isomeric states of this nucleus. This thesis represents the first time such isomeric discrimination has been achieved, and presents tentative spin assignments of both the ground state and an isomer. The neutron-deficient gold isotopes are an area of interest for the study of shape coexistence. This is the phenomenon exhibited by nuclei able to exist at a number of close lying energy minima, each reflecting a distinct type of deformation. It is hoped that studies such as this can help identify the evolution of nuclear deformation in this region of the nuclear chart.

The dependence of bimetallic PdAu catalytic activity on the relative ratios of Pd and Au has been theoretically predicted and experimentally observed for a number of reactions. Trichloroethene (TCE), a common carcinogenic solvent that is difficult to remove from contaminated groundwater in many industrialized nations, can be chemically degraded especially rapidly with Au nanoparticles partially coated with Pd ("Pd-on-Au NPs"). These NPs catalyze the room-temperature water-phase TCE hydrodechlorination (HDC) reaction with activities that follow a volcano-shape dependence on Pd surface coverage. The effect of particle size is not known, though. Pd-on-Au NPs synthesized with 3, 7, and 10 nm Au NPs and Pd surface coverages between 0 and 150% were studied in detail. Volcano-shape dependence on Au particle size and Pd surface coverage was observed, with 7 nm Au NPs with a Pd coverage of 60-70% having the highest TCE HDC activity. Extended x-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) revealed the correlation was strongest between catalytic activity and the presence of non-oxidized Pd ensembles of ~2-3 atoms in contact with ~8-10 Au atoms. Isolated Pd atoms and Pd ensembles were visualized for the first time through aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). This study provides the most direct evidence yet for Pd-on-Au NPs containing 2-dimensional Pd ensembles as the active sites for TCE HDC and likely for other chemical reactions. A portion of the research was performed using EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This research was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated by Battelle for the US Department of Energy.

The PHENIX experiment operates with one of the major detectors at the RHIC collider. One of the major goals of PHENIX is to identify and study Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). Direct photons turn out to be an excellent probe due to their small interaction cross section with the collision produced medium hence carrying information of its properties from the space-time production points. In the PHENIX direct photon measurement, a large excess of low-pT photons in Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV is discovered compared to reference p+p collisions, which has been interpreted as thermal radiation from the QGP and hadron-gas (HG) medium. At the same time the excess photons have a large azimuthal anisotropy, expressed as Fourier coefficients v2 and v3. Measurements at a lower collision energy may provide new insight on the origin of the low-pT direct photons. In the experiment the current effort is to reduce the experimental uncertainties in Au+Au and p+p collisions via the photons' external conversion to di-electron pairs, and measure the direct photon yield in Cu+Au and p+Au collisions at 200 GeV as well as the yield in Au+Au collisions at lower 39 GeV and 62.4 GeV. We will present the improvements and the status of the ongoing analyses.

Colloidal metal nanocrystals with strong, stable, and tunable localized surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) can be useful in a corrosive environment for many applications including field-enhanced spectroscopies, plasmon-mediated catalysis, etc. Here, a new synthetic strategy is reported that enables the epitaxial growth of a homogeneously alloyed AuAg shell on Au nanorod seeds, circumventing the phase segregation of Au and Ag encountered in conventional synthesis. The resulting core–shell structured bimetallic nanorods (AuNR@AuAg) have well-mixed Au and Ag atoms in their shell without discernible domains. This degree of mixing allows AuNR@AuAg to combine the high stability of Au with the superior plasmonic activity of Ag, thus outperforming seemingly similar nanostructures with monometallic shells (e.g., Ag-coated Au NRs (AuNR@Ag) and Au-coated Au NRs (AuNR@Au)). AuNR@AuAg is comparable to AuNR@Ag in plasmonic activity, but that it is markedly more stable toward oxidative treatment. Specifically, AuNR@AuAg and AuNR@Ag exhibit similarly strong signals in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy that are some 30-fold higher than that of AuNR@Au. When incubated with a H2O2 solution (0.5 m), the plasmonic activity of AuNR@Ag immediately and severely decayed, whereas AuNR@AuAg retained its activity intact. Moreover, the longitudinal SPR frequency of AuNR@AuAg can be tuned throughout the red wavelengths (≈620–690 nm) by controlling the thickness of the AuAg alloy shell. The synthetic strategy is versatile to fabricate AuAg alloyed shells on different shaped Au, with prospects for new possibilities in the synthesis and application of plasmonic nanocrystals.

Pt and Au nanoparticles with controlled Pt : Au molar ratios and PtAu nanoparticle loadings were successfully self-assembled onto poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA)-functionalized graphene (PDDA-G) as highly effective electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation in direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs). The simultaneously assembled Pt and Au nanoparticles on PDDA-G showed superb electrocatalytic activity for HCOOH oxidation, and the current density associated with the preferred dehydrogenation pathway for the direct formation of CO(2) through HCOOH oxidation on a Pt(1)Au(8)/PDDA-G (i.e., a Pt : Au ratio of 1 : 8) is 32 times higher than on monometallic Pt/PDDA-G. The main function of the Au in the mixed Pt and Au nanoparticles on PDDA-G is to facilitate the first electron transfer from HCOOH to HCOO(ads) and the effective spillover of HCOO(ads) from Au to Pt nanoparticles, where HCOO(ads) is further oxidized to CO(2). The Pt : Au molar ratio and PtAu nanoparticle loading on PDDA-G supports are the two critical factors to achieve excellent electrocatalytic activity of PtAu/PDDA-G catalysts for the HCOOH oxidation reactions.

In this paper, Au-Ag-Au double shell nanoparticles were prepared based on the reduction of the metal salts HAuCl4 and AgNO3 at the surface of seed particles. Due to the synergistic effect between Au and Ag, the hybrid nanoparticles are particularly stable and show excellent performances on the detection of 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole (methimazole). The binding of target molecule at the surface of Au-Ag-Au double shell nanoparticles was demonstrated based on both localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra. The LSPR intensity is directly proportional to the methimazole concentration in the range of 0.10-3.00×10(-7) mol L(-1). The SERS spectrum can be applied in identification of methimazole molecule. The LSPR coupled with SERS based on the Au-Ag-Au double shell nanoparticles would be very attractive for the quantitative determination and qualitative analysis of the analytes in medicines.

Pd-Au catalysts have shown exceptional performance for selective hydrogen production via HCOOH decomposition, a promising alternative to solve issues associated with hydrogen storage and distribution. In this study, we utilized temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and reactive molecular beam scattering (RMBS) in an attempt to unravel the factors governing the catalytic properties of Pd-Au bimetallic surfaces for HCOOH decomposition. Our results show that Pd atoms at the Pd-Au surface are responsible for activating HCOOH molecules; however, the selectivity of the reaction is dictated by the identity of the surface metal atoms adjacent to the Pd atoms. Pd atoms that reside at Pd-Au interface sites tend to favor dehydrogenation of HCOOH, whereas Pd atoms in Pd(111)-like sites, which lack neighboring Au atoms, favor dehydration of HCOOH. These observations suggest that the reactivity and selectivity of HCOOH decomposition on Pd-Au catalysts can be tailored by controlling the arrangement of surface Pd and Au atoms. The findings in this study may prove informative for rational design of Pd-Au catalysts for associated reactions including selective HCOOH decomposition for hydrogen production and electro-oxidation of HCOOH in the direct formic acid fuel cell.

We present centrality dependent charged hadron yields at several pseudorapidities from Au+Au collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$=200GeV measured with BRAHMS spectrometers. Nuclear modification factors RAA and RCP for charged hadrons at forward angles in Au+Au and d+Au collisions at RHIC will be discussed.

Growth of Fe and Cu thin films on Au substrate and stress evolution were modeled using molecular dynamics simulation. The interactions in the system are described by embedded atom method. The kinematical theory of scattering is performed to identify the structure obtained from simulations. The gold layers undergo reconstruction before deposition. The deposited copper atoms do not disturb the atoms in the reconstructed gold layer, but the deposited iron atoms cause the disappearance of the reconstructed gold surfaces. In both systems Cu/Au and Fe/Au, in the early stage of growth one observes compressive stress. Next, Cu/Au systems have the compressive stress, while in the case of Fe/Au the tensile stress is observed. In the Fe/Au system, the body-centered cubic lattice of Fe changes its orientation relative to the Au layer. In the Fe/Au system we observed a larger diffusion of Au atoms than in Cu/Au systems. - Highlights: • The kinematical theory of scattering is performed to identify the structure. • The correlation between the stress and the deformation is observed. • The relaxation of the stress depends on the orientation of layers. • The lattice of Fe changes its orientation relative to the Au layer in the Fe/Au system. • The Cu layer continues the lattice of Au in the Cu/Au system.

Our understanding of inner coma composition in comets has long been biased towards heliocentric distances (Rh) smaller than 2-3 AU. However, observations far from the Sun are also of high value for better understanding the nucleus structure and outgassing of volatiles. Substantial and very important evidence for the activity of distant comets has been accumulated from photometry and analyses of light curves, but direct detections of primary (parent) volatiles are still rare. For example, comet C/2006 W3 (Christensen) remained outside 3.1 AU throughout its apparition, yet it presented the best opportunity since Hale-Bopp (1997) for detailed spectroscopic studies in a distant comet. C/2006 W3 was observed from several space- and ground-based facilities using both infrared and radio techniques. CO, CH4, and C2H6 were measured via infrared spectroscopy at ESO-VLT at Rh = 3.25 AU. Production rates were found to exceed those measured for each of these species in most other comets, despite those comets being observed much closer to the Sun. With its relatively high CO/CO2 ratio, C/2006 W3 also appears as an outlier in the AKARI comet survey of 18 comets. The detections of H2O (Herschel Space Observatory) and CO (ESO-VLT) allow for constraining the coma abundance ratio H2O/CO at Rh = 5 AU.We will compare the C2H6/CH4/CO ratios in C/2006 W3 with those in other comets spanning a large range in Rh: from D/2012 S1 ISON (~0.7 AU) to 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 (~ 6.3 AU). Notably in situ measurements by the Rosetta mission were performed in the coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, at a very similar heliocentric distance to C/2006 W3 (3.15 AU). While comparisons of column-integrated remote sensing measurements and abundances from in-situ mass spectrometry (as performed by the ROSINA instrument) are not straightforward, both types of measurement are of high value for constraining models of nucleus outgassing beyond 3 AU from the Sun, where the inferred nucleus structure and

Direct imaging searches have begun to detect planetary and brown dwarf companions and to place constraints on the presence of giant planets at large separations from their host star. This work helps to motivate such planet searches by predicting a population of young giant planets that could be detectable by direct imaging campaigns. Both the classical core accretion and the gravitational instability model for planet formation are hard-pressed to form long-period planets in situ. Here, we show that dynamical instabilities among planetary systems that originally formed multiple giant planets much closer to the host star could produce a population of giant planets at large (~100 AU - 100000 AU) separations. We estimate the limits within which these planets may survive, quantify the efficiency of gravitational scattering into both stable and unstable wide orbits, and demonstrate that population analyses must take into account the age of the system. We predict that planet scattering creates a population of detect...

In this work the morphology evolution of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs), obtained by direct reduction, was studied as a function of time, temperature, and Au(III)/sodium ascorbate molar ratio. The NPs morphology was examined by transmission electron microscope with image analysis, while time evolution was investigated by visible and near-infrared absorption spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. It is found that initially formed star-like NPs transform in more spheroidal particles and the evolution appears more rapid by increasing the temperature while a large amount of reducing agent prevents the remodeling of AuNPs. An explication of morphology evolution is proposed.

In this work the morphology evolution of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs), obtained by direct reduction, was studied as a function of time, temperature, and Au(III)/sodium ascorbate molar ratio. The NPs morphology was examined by transmission electron microscope with image analysis, while time evolution was investigated by visible and near-infrared absorption spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. It is found that initially formed star-like NPs transform in more spheroidal particles and the evolution appears more rapid by increasing the temperature while a large amount of reducing agent prevents the remodeling of AuNPs. An explication of morphology evolution is proposed.

LIBS was applied to 19 Au-Ag ore samples to investigate if this technique can be used to distinguish between economic and sub-economic ore either by direct detection of these elements or by using other elements as indicators. However, the Au and Ag grades of the samples are below the detection limit

LIBS was applied to 19 Au-Ag ore samples to investigate if this technique can be used to distinguish between economic and sub-economic ore either by direct detection of these elements or by using other elements as indicators. However, the Au and Ag grades of the samples are below the detection limit

The inclusive $J/\\psi$ transverse momentum ($p_{T}$) spectra and nuclear modification factors are reported at midrapidity ($|y|<1.0$) in Au+Au collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$ 39, 62.4 and 200 GeV taken by the STAR experiment. A suppression of $J/\\psi$ production, with respect to {\\color{black}the production in $p+p$ scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions}, is observed in central Au+Au collisions at these three energies. No significant energy dependence of nuclear modification factors is found within uncertainties. The measured nuclear modification factors can be described by model calculations that take into account both suppression of direct $J/\\psi$ production due to the color screening effect and $J/\\psi$ regeneration from recombination of uncorrelated charm-anticharm quark pairs.

Chirality imbalance could occur in local domains inside the hot nuclear matter formed in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. In the presence of a strong magnetic field, this chirality imbalance will induce an electric charge separation along the magnetic field direction, owing to the chiral magnetic effect (CME). Previous azimuthal-angle correlation measurements with unidentified charged particles have manifested charge separation signals consistent with the predictions of the CME. But the magnitudes of the background contributions have not been understood. In this poster, we present the correlation results with identified particles (protons and pions) using STAR data of 39 GeV Au+Au collisions. The results will be compared with those from Au+Au at √{sNN} = 200GeV , as well as the published results of unidentified particles at √{sNN} = 39GeV . For the STAR Collaboration.

Quartz crystal microbalance(QCM) and cyclic voltammetry(CV) were used to characterize the monolayer of cytochrome c(Cyt c),which was adsorbed on gold film modified with alkanethiol mixed monolayer.A direct comparison of protein surface coverages calculated from QCM and cyclic voltammetric measurements illustrates that the ratio of the electroactive Cyt c to the total surface-confined Cyt c is 34％,which suggests that the orientation is a main factor affecting the electroactivity of Cyt c.Moreover,surface plasmon resonance(SPR) measurement combined with CV "in situ" was used to investigate the conformational change of Cyt c in the redox process.Besides,Au nanoparticles(Au NPs) were adsorbed on the surface of Cyt c.The result indicates that Au NPs promote electron transfer between Cyt c and the gold electrode,and SPR result suggests Au NPs enhance SPR signal.

Full Text Available The inclusive J/ψ transverse momentum spectra and nuclear modification factors are reported at mid-rapidity (|y|<1.0 in Au+Au collisions at sNN = 39, 62.4 and 200 GeV taken by the STAR experiment. A suppression of J/ψ production, with respect to the production in p+p scaled by the number of binary nucleon–nucleon collisions, is observed in central Au+Au collisions at these three energies. No significant energy dependence of nuclear modification factors is found within uncertainties. The measured nuclear modification factors can be described by model calculations that take into account both suppression of direct J/ψ production due to the color screening effect and J/ψ regeneration from recombination of uncorrelated charm–anticharm quark pairs.

We report the excitation of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) close to the orthogonal axis of a gold (Au) film on borosilicate glass. Direct spectroscopic measurement of SPR shifts using different liquids are made at ~5{\\deg} incidence within a reflection spectrophotometer. Scattering of light that is able to penetrate across the film at the interfaces is the proposed mechanism by which coupling, and plasmon localization, is established.

We herein report a one-step,wet-chemical approach to synthesizing gold nanoplates in large quantities via the AuCl4-thermal reduction process by aniline,without introducing additional capping agent or surfactant.It is found that the reduction kinetics of AuCl4-is greatly altered by varying the initial molar ratio of aniline to AuCl4-.Moreover,further investigation reveals that the in-situ formed polyaniline could serve effectively as a capping agent to preferably adsorb the { 111 } facets of gold crystals during a slow reduction process,directing the formation of gold nanoplates.

We have fabricated organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cell that uses a Ti/Au multilayer as cathode and does not use electron transport materials, and achieved the highest power conversion efficiency close to 13% with high reproducibility and hysteresis-free photocurrent curves. Our cell has a Schottky planar heterojunction structure (ITO/PEDOT:PSS/perovskite/Ti/Au), in which the Ti insertion layer isolate the perovskite and Au layers, thus proving good contact between the Au and perovskite and increasing the cells’ shunt resistance greatly. Moreover, the Ti/Au cathode in direct contact with hybrid perovskite showed no reaction for a long-term exposure to the air, and can provide sufficient protection and avoid the perovskite and PEDOT:PSS layers contact with moisture. Hence, the Ti/Au based devices retain about 70% of their original efficiency after 300 h storage in the ambient environment.

The high-yield synthesis of 4H/face-centered cubic (fcc)-Au@Ir core-shell nanoribbons (NRBs) is achieved via the direct growth of Ir on 4H Au NRBs under ambient conditions. Importantly, this method can be used to synthesize 4H/fcc-Au@Os and 4H/fcc-Au@IrOs core-shell NRBs. Significantly, the obtained 4H/fcc-Au@Ir core-shell NRBs demonstrate an exceptional electrocatalytic activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction under acidic condition, which is much higher than that of the commercial Ir/C catalyst.

stengthening the common defence posture: - Improving the co-operation tnmong member nations in aerospace research and devtlopment; - Exchange. of scientific...Since the center of gravity of the head/helmet is not aligned with its support (the neck ) the head will slump in whatever direction is dictated by the

Most Filipina au pairs in Denmark send remittances back home, and for many, au pairing forms part of longer-term migration trajectories. This article explores how Filipina au pairs try to carve out a future for themselves abroad. It shows that they navigate within tight webs of financial interdep...... by including the migrants’ broader social network within the frame of research.......Most Filipina au pairs in Denmark send remittances back home, and for many, au pairing forms part of longer-term migration trajectories. This article explores how Filipina au pairs try to carve out a future for themselves abroad. It shows that they navigate within tight webs of financial...... interdependence, whilst they continuously form their trajectories in relation to opportunities and restraints posed along the way by their local and transnational social relations. The article argues that examinations of migration trajectories benefit from broadening the research out in both time and space...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset is located between the islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe, and includes the Au'au Channel as well as parts of the Kealaikahiki, Alalakeiki...

We present results from a harmonic decomposition of two-particle azimuthal correlations measured with the STAR detector in Au +Au collisions for energies ranging from √{sN N }=7.7 to 200 GeV. The third harmonic v32{2 }=⟨cos 3 (ϕ1-ϕ2)⟩ , where ϕ1-ϕ2 is the angular difference in azimuth, is studied as a function of the pseudorapidity difference between particle pairs Δ η =η1-η2 . Nonzero v32{2 } is directly related to the previously observed large-Δ η narrow-Δ ϕ ridge correlations and has been shown in models to be sensitive to the existence of a low viscosity quark gluon plasma phase. For sufficiently central collisions, v32{2 } persist down to an energy of 7.7 GeV, suggesting that quark gluon plasma may be created even in these low energy collisions. In peripheral collisions at these low energies, however, v32{2 } is consistent with zero. When scaled by the pseudorapidity density of charged-particle multiplicity per participating nucleon pair, v32{2 } for central collisions shows a minimum near √{sN N }=20 GeV .

The ability to direct bimetallic nanoparticles to express desirable surface composition is a crucial step toward effective heterogeneous catalysis, sensing, and bionanotechnology applications. Here we report surface composition tuning of bimetallic Au-Pt electrocatalysts for carbon monoxide and methanol oxidation reactions. We establish a direct correlation between the surface composition of Au-Pt nanoparticles and their catalytic activities. We find that the intrinsic activities of Au-Pt nanoparticles with the same bulk composition of Au0.5Pt0.5 can be enhanced by orders of magnitude by simply controlling the surface composition. We attribute this enhancement to the weakened CO binding on Pt in discrete Pt or Pt-rich clusters surrounded by surface Au atoms. Our finding demonstrates the importance of surface composition control at the nanoscale in harnessing the true electrocatalytic potential of bimetallic nanoparticles and opens up strategies for the development of highly active bimetallic nanoparticles for electrochemical energy conversion.

Heterogeneous Au-Pt nanostructures have been synthesized using a sacrificial template-based approach. Typically, monodispersed Au nanoparticles are prepared first, followed by Ag coating to form core-shell Au-Ag nanoparticles. Next, the galvanic replacement reaction between Ag shells and an aqueous H(2)PtCl(6) solution, whose chemical reaction can be described as 4Ag + PtCl(6)(2-)→ Pt + 4AgCl + 2Cl(-), is carried out at room temperature. Pure Ag shell is transformed into a shell made of Ag/Pt alloy by galvanic replacement. The AgCl formed simultaneously roughens the surface of alloy Ag-Pt shells, which can be manipulated to create a porous Pt surface for oxygen reduction reaction. Finally, Ag and AgCl are removed from core-shell Au-Ag/Pt nanoparticles using bis(p-sulfonatophenyl)phenylphosphane dihydrate dipotassium salt to produce heterogeneous Au-Pt nanostructures. The heterogeneous Au-Pt nanostructures have displayed superior catalytic activity towards oxygen reduction in direct methanol fuel cells because of the electronic coupling effect between the inner-placed Au core and the Pt shell.

We present a pair of candidate Jovian exoplanets discovered with the radial velocity (RV) technique in the near-infrared (NIR) orbiting the young M dwarf star AU Mic (a ~ 0.3 and 3.5 AU; M_p ~ 1.5 and 6 M_J). Data were obtained at 2.3 microns from 2010-2016 with the R=46,000 CSHELL spectrograph at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, and from 2005-2007 with the R=25,000 NIRSPEC spectrograph at the Keck Observatory. AU Mic possesses long-lived BY Draconis type polar starspots with a known rotation period of 4.865 days. No signal in the NIR RVs is identified that is consistent with the rotation period of the star, but stellar activity remains a possible explanation for the observed NIR RV variability. The outer Jovian planet candidate offers a plausible dynamical explanation for the observed debris disk dynamics of moving "clumps" on several year time-scales. It may be possible to directly image the outer planet candidate with the current generation of high contrast imaging instruments. If confirmed, this discovery would demonstrate the utility of RV precursor observations for informing direct imaging surveys and the utility of NIR RV searches for planets around young and/or active stars. These results also point to the promise of future NIR precise RVs, including iSHELL, SPIRou, HPF and CARMENES, which will operate at higher precision and with larger spectral grasp than CSHELL.

A gold deposition technique for the fabrication of Au/LB/Au structures has been developed. The kinetic energy of evaporated gold atoms is reduced by scattering the gold atoms from argon gas. Moreover, the samples are cooled down below 173K (-100 deg C) to avoid the diffusion of gold atoms into the LB films and to fabricate electrically continuous thin gold electrodes (This technique has since been used in fabrication of Au/LB/Au structures even with monolayer LB films (Metzger, et al. (2001)). To measure the current-voltage characteristics of the Au/LB/Au structures at liquid helium temperatures, new junction geometries have been explored. To avoid the direct contact of the Gallium-Indium eutectic onto the LB films, which is the cause of the breakdown of the junction at lower temperatures, a cross electrode junction geometry is used. The problem of poor Langmuir-Blodgett film deposition at the penumbra region of the base electrode is avoided by covering the penumbra region with an insulating omega-tricosenoic...

Ni/Au plated finishes used on thick-film metallized multilayer ceramic packages for integrated circuits must meet functional requirements such as bondability, sealability, and solderability. Their ability to do so is dependent, among other things, on the ability of the Au deposit to inhibit the grain boundary diffusion and subsequent surface oxidation of Ni. In this study, the relation between functional performance, Ni diffusionr ate, and Au microstructure was examined. Extent of Ni diffusion during heating was determined by Auger electron spectroscopy for several electrolytic and electroless Ni/Au finishing processes. Results were correlated with differences in Au microstructures determined by SEM, atomic force microscopy, and XRD.

English for Au Pairs has interlinked stories about a group of au pairs new to England. Marta, an 18-year-old from Poland arrives in the UK to work as an au pair. Throughout her year-long stay she has many different experiences - some bad, some good - but with the support of her host family she finds new friends and improves her English. English for Au Pairs offers insight into the joys and difficulties of being an au pair while at the same time reinforcing English language learning through grammar explanations and exercises.

@@ The chemisorption of one monolayer of Au atoms on an ideal Si(001) surface is studied by using the self-consistent tight binding linear muffin-tin orbital method. Energies of the adsorption system of a Au atom on different sites are calculated. It is found that the most stable position is A site (top site) for the adsorbed Au atoms above the Si(001)surface. It is possible for the adsorbed Au atoms to sit below the Si(001) surface at the B1 site(bridge site), resulting in a Au-Si mixed layer. This is in agreement with the experiment results. The layer projected density of states is calculated and compared with that of the clean surface. The charge transfer is also investigated.

Gold clusters supported on TiO2(110) exhibit unusual activity for the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. Temperature programmed desorption studies of methanol on Au clusters show that both Au and titania sites are necessary for methanol reaction. Isotopic labeling experiments with CD3OH demonstrate that reaction occurs via Osbnd H bond scission to form a methoxy intermediate. When the TiO2 surface is oxidized with 18O2 before or after Au deposition, methanol reaction produces H218O below 300 K, indicating that oxygen from titania promotes Osbnd H bond scission and is incorporated into desorbing products. XPS experiments provide additional evidence that during methanol reaction on the Au/TiO2 surface, methanol adsorption occurs on TiO2, given that the titania support becomes slightly oxidized after exposure to methanol in the presence of Au clusters. While the role of TiO2 is to dissociate the Osbnd H bond and form the reactive methoxy intermediate, the role of the Au sites is to remove hydrogen from the surface as H2, thus preventing the recombination of methoxy and hydrogen to methanol. The decrease in formaldehyde yield with increasing Au coverage above 0.25 ML suggests that reaction occurs at Au-titania interfacial sites; scanning tunneling microscopy images of various Au coverages confirm that the number of interfacial sites at the perimeter of the Au clusters decreases as the Au coverage is increased between 0.25 and 5 ML.

The strain distributions of Au/Ag and Ag/Au nanoparticles confined in the Al2O3 matrix with different core sizes are investigated by using the finite element method, respectively. The simulation results clearly indicate that the compressive strains exerted on the Au/Ag and Ag/Au nanoparticles can be induced by the Al2O3 matrix. Moreover, it can be found that the strain gradient existing in a Au/Ag nanoparticle is much larger than that in a Ag/Au nanoparticle, which could be due to the larger Young’s modulus of Au than that of Ag. With the core size increasing, the strain gradient existing in the Au/Ag nanoparticle becomes larger, while the strain gradient existing in the Ag/Au nanoparticle keeps constant. These different strain distributions may have significant infl uences on the structures and morphologies of the Au/Ag and Ag/Au nanoparticles, leading to the different physical properties for potential applications.

Full Text Available Chemically pure colloidal suspensions of gold and silver nanoparticles were synthesized using pulsed laser ablation. The dependence of laser fluence on the surface plasmon characteristics of the nanoparticles was investigated. Au:Ag colloidal suspensions were prepared by mixing highly monodisperse Au and Ag nanocolloids. The plasmon band of these mixtures was found to be highly sensitive to Au:Ag concentration ratio and wavelength of the laser beam used in the ablation process. The Au:Ag mixture consists of almost spherical shaped nanostructures with a tendency to join with adjacent ones. The surface enhanced Raman scattering activity of the Au, Ag and Au:Ag colloidal suspensions was tested using crystal violet as probe molecules. Enhancement in Raman signal obtained with Au:Ag substrates was found to be promising and strongly depends on its plasmon characteristics.

Chemically pure colloidal suspensions of gold and silver nanoparticles were synthesized using pulsed laser ablation. The dependence of laser fluence on the surface plasmon characteristics of the nanoparticles was investigated. Au:Ag colloidal suspensions were prepared by mixing highly monodisperse Au and Ag nanocolloids. The plasmon band of these mixtures was found to be highly sensitive to Au:Ag concentration ratio and wavelength of the laser beam used in the ablation process. The Au:Ag mixture consists of almost spherical shaped nanostructures with a tendency to join with adjacent ones. The surface enhanced Raman scattering activity of the Au, Ag and Au:Ag colloidal suspensions was tested using crystal violet as probe molecules. Enhancement in Raman signal obtained with Au:Ag substrates was found to be promising and strongly depends on its plasmon characteristics.

The phase equilibria of the Sn-Cu-Au ternary, Ag-Sn-Cu-Au quaternary systems and interfacial reactions between Sn-Cu alloys and Au were experimentally investigated at specific temperatures in this study. The experimental results indicated that there existed three ternary intermetallic compounds (IMCs) and a complete solid solubility between AuSn and Cu6Sn5 phases in the Sn-Cu-Au ternary system at 200°C. No quaternary IMC was found in the isoplethal section of the Ag-Sn-Cu-Au quaternary system. Three IMCs, AuSn, AuSn2, and AuSn4, were found in all couples. The same three IMCs and (Au,Cu)Sn/(Cu,Au)6Sn5 phases were found in all Sn-Cu/Au couples. The thickness of these reaction layers increased with increasing temperature and time. The mechanism of IMC growth can be described by using the parabolic law. In addition, when the reaction time was extended and the Cu content of the alloy was increased, the AuSn4 phase disappeared gradually. The (Au, Cu)Sn and (Cu,Au)6Sn5 layers played roles as diffusion barriers against Sn in Sn-Cu/Au reaction couple systems.

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • A novel AuNPs/Trp-GR composite was fabricated by directly electrochemical deposition. • The composite exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity towards DA. • The proposed method was applied to real samples. - Abstract: A novel and uniform gold nanoparticles/tryptophan-functionalized graphene nanocomposite (AuNPs/Trp-GR) has been successfully fabricated by directly electrochemical depositing gold onto the surface of tryptophan-functionalized graphene (Trp-GR). The nanostructure of AuNPs/Trp-GR was characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). It was demonstrated that Au nanoparticles were well dispersed on the surface of Trp-GR which might attribute to the more binding sites provided by Trp-GR for the formation of Au nanoparticles. The electrocatalytic activity of the AuNPs/Trp-GR towards the dopamine (DA) was systematically investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Under optimum conditions, a wide and valuable linear range (0.5–411 μM), a low detection limit (0.056 μM, S/N = 3), good repeatability and stability were obtained for the determination of DA. Furthermore, the modified electrode was successfully applied to real samples analysis.

In this work, we report for the first time the use of tungsten oxide (WOx) as catalyst support for Au toward the direct electrooxidation of glucose. The nanostructured WOx/Au electrodes were synthesized by means of laser-ablation technique. Both micro-Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the produced WOx thin film is amorphous and made of ultrafine particles of subnanometer size. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that only metallic Au was present at the surface of the WOx/Au composite, suggesting that the WOx support did not alter the electronic structure of Au. The direct electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose in neutral medium such as phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.2) solution has been investigated with cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and square-wave voltammetry. Sensitivity as high as 65.7 μA cm(-2) mM(-1) up to 10 mM of glucose and a low detection limit of 10 μM were obtained with square-wave voltammetry. This interesting analytical performance makes the laser-fabricated WOx/Au electrode potentially promising for implantable glucose fuel cells and biomedical analysis as the evaluation of glucose concentration in biological fluids. Finally, owing to its unique capabilities proven in this work, it is anticipated that the laser-ablation technique will develop as a fabrication tool for chip miniature-sized sensors in the near future.

Full Text Available Pathogenic bacteria that give rise to diseases every year remain a major health concern. In recent years, tellurium-based nanomaterials have been approved as new and efficient antibacterial agents. In this paper, we developed the approach to directly grow tellurium nanowires (Te NWs onto commercial carbon fiber fabrics and demonstrated their antibacterial activity. Those Te NWs can serve as templates and reducing agents for gold nanoparticles (Au NPs to deposit. Three different Te-Au NWs with varied concentration of Au NPs were synthesized and showed superior antibacterial activity and biocompability. These results indicate that the as-prepared carbon fiber fabrics with Te and Te-Au NWs can become antimicrobial clothing products in the near future.

Pathogenic bacteria that give rise to diseases every year remain a major health concern. In recent years, tellurium-based nanomaterials have been approved as new and efficient antibacterial agents. In this paper, we developed the approach to directly grow tellurium nanowires (Te NWs) onto commercial carbon fiber fabrics and demonstrated their antibacterial activity. Those Te NWs can serve as templates and reducing agents for gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) to deposit. Three different Te-Au NWs with varied concentration of Au NPs were synthesized and showed superior antibacterial activity and biocompability. These results indicate that the as-prepared carbon fiber fabrics with Te and Te-Au NWs can become antimicrobial clothing products in the near future.

Velocity correlations of intermediate mass fragments (IMFs), produced in central collisions of Au + Au at 150 A.MeV beam energy, are extracted from measurements with the FOPI (phase I) detector system at SIS in GSI Darmstadt. The IMF correlation function for semicentral events is found to be affected by the directed sideward flow. When rotating the events into a unique reaction plane an enhancement of correlations, resulting from event mixing effects, vanishes. Selecting violent collisions with a high degree of azimuthal symmetry the correlation function appears nearly independent of additional event or single particle gate conditions. The comparison of the data with a Coulomb dominated final-state interaction model points to time scales of {tau} {proportional_to} 25 fm/c or less for emitting IMFs from an expanding and multifragmenting source with radius R {proportional_to} 14 fm. (orig.)

We have measured rapidity densities dN/dy of pi+/- and K+/- over a broad rapidity range (-0.1 < y < 3.5) for central Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_nn) = 200 GeV. These data have significant implications for the chemistry and dynamics of the dense system that is initially created in the collisions. The full phase-space yields are 1742 +/- 17 +/- 140 (pi+), 1761 +/- 16 +/- 141 (pi-), 288 +/- 5 +/- 23 (K+) and 241 +/- 3 +/- 19 (K-). The systematics of the strange to non--strange meson ratios are found to track the variation of the baryo--chemical potential with rapidity and energy. Landau--like hydrodynamic is found to describe the bulk transport of the pions in the longitudinal direction.

Y3Au4 (triyttrium tetragold) and Y14Au51 (tetradecayttrium henpentacontagold), two binary representatives of Au-rich rare earth (R) systems crystallize with the space groups R-3 and P6/m, adopting the Pu3Pd4 and Gd14Ag51 structure types, respectively (Pearson symbols hR42 and hP65). A variety of binary R-Au compounds have been reported, although only a few have been investigated thoroughly. Many reports lack information or misinterpret known compounds reported elsewhere. The Pu3Pd4 type is fairly common for group 10 elements Ni, Pd, and Pt, while Au representatives are restricted to just five examples, i.e. Ca3Au4, Pr3Au4, Nd3Au4, Gd3Au4, and Th3Au4. Sm6Au7 is suspected to be Sm3Au4 due to identical symmetry and close unit-cell parameters. The Pu3Pd4 structure type allows for full substitution of the position of the rare earth atom by more electronegative and smaller elements, i.e. Ti and Zr. The Gd14Ag51 type instead is more common for the group 11 metals, while rare representatives of group 12 are known. Y3Au4 can be represented as a tunnel structure with encapsulated cations and anionic chains. Though tunnels are present in Y14Au51, this structure is more complex and is best described in terms of polyhedral `pinwheels' around the tunnel forming polyhedra along the c axis.

Au nanoparticles grown on mildly sputtered Highly Ordered Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG) surfaces were studied using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The results were compared with those of Ag nanoparticles on the same substrate. By varying the defect densities of HOPG and the Au coverages, one can create Au nanoparticles in various sizes. At high Au coverages, the structures of the Au films significantly deviate from the ideal truncated octahedral form: the existence of many steps between different Au atomic layers can be observed, most likely due to a high activation barrier of the diffusion of Au atoms across the step edges. This implies that the particle growth at room temperature is strongly limited by kinetic factors. Hexagonal shapes of Au structures could be identified, indicating preferential growth of Au nanostructures along the (111) direction normal to the surface. In the case of Au, XPS studies reveal a weaker core level shift with decreasing particle size compared to the 3d level in similarly sized Ag particles. Also taking into account the Auger analysis of the Ag particles, the core level shifts of the metal nanoparticles on HOPG can be understood in terms of the metal/substrate charge transfer. Ag is (partially) positively charged, whereas Au negatively charged on HOPG. It is demonstrated that XPS can be a useful tool to study metal-support interactions, which plays an important role for heterogeneous catalysis, for example.

In the present paper, a novel method to fabricate ordered arrays of Au/NiO/Au nanowires is described, with the aim of filling the gap between the fundamental study of the electrical properties of scattered single nanowires and the engineered fabrication of nanowire arrays. This approach mainly consists of the following steps: (a) electrodeposition of Au/Ni/Au nanowires into an ordered porous anodic aluminum oxide template; (b) mechanical polishing of the sample to expose the gold tips of Au/Ni/Au nanowires to the template surface; (c) in situ annealing of the Au/Ni/Au nanowires without removing the template. The resulting structure consists in an ordered array of Au/NiO/Au nanowires slightly protruding out of a flat aluminum oxide template. Unlike current approaches, with the described method it is not necessary to remove the template in order to oxidize the middle metal, thus allowing the availability of an entire set of metal/oxide/metal nanowires ordered in a two-dimensional matrix and where single heterojunctions can be accessed individually.

In the present paper, a novel method to fabricate ordered arrays of Au/NiO/Au nanowires is described, with the aim of filling the gap between the fundamental study of the electrical properties of scattered single nanowires and the engineered fabrication of nanowire arrays. This approach mainly consists of the following steps: (a) electrodeposition of Au/Ni/Au nanowires into an ordered porous anodic aluminum oxide template; (b) mechanical polishing of the sample to expose the gold tips of Au/Ni/Au nanowires to the template surface; (c) in situ annealing of the Au/Ni/Au nanowires without removing the template. The resulting structure consists in an ordered array of Au/NiO/Au nanowires slightly protruding out of a flat aluminum oxide template. Unlike current approaches, with the described method it is not necessary to remove the template in order to oxidize the middle metal, thus allowing the availability of an entire set of metal/oxide/metal nanowires ordered in a two-dimensional matrix and where single heterojunctions can be accessed individually.

Research highlights: > It's the first time that Au-La and Au-Er binary systems were thermodynamically assessed since 1985. > Besides, in the present work, the ab initio approach has been employed to calculate the formation enthalpies of the IMCs involved in Au-Er and Au-La binary systems, and then, by combining with all of the available experimental information, these two-system were thermodynamically optimized via CALPHAD method. Therefore, a more reliable thermodynamic description has been obtained for these systems. - Abstract: Phase relationships in Au-La and Au-Er binary systems have been thermodynamically assessed by using the CALPHAD technique. The existing thermodynamic descriptions of the systems were improved by incorporating the ab initio calculated enthalpies of formation of the intermetallic compounds, except for the Au{sub 51}La{sub 14} and Au{sub 10}Er{sub 7} phases. All the binary intermetallic compounds were treated as stoichiometric phases, while the solution phases, including liquid, fcc, bcc, and dhcp, were treated as substitutional solution phases and the excess Gibbs energies were formulated with Redlich-Kister polynomial function. As a result, two self-consist thermodynamic data sets for describing the Au-La and Au-Er binary systems were obtained.

Gold nanorods (AuNRs) can be successfully co-assembled with Ag nanowires (AgNWs) to form a kind of AuNR-AgNW nanocomposite by electrostatic attraction, in which the AuNRs are arranged along the long axial direction of the AgNWs with a preferential string-like alignment. The assembled AuNR-AgNW nanocomposites are then further embedded within polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers by electrospinning, by which both AuNRs and AgNWs can be stabilized and arranged along the axis of polymer nanofibers. When the polymer nanofibers are aligned by collecting on a copper mesh with a woven structure, the AuNR-AgNW nanocomposites assembled within the electrospun nanofibers are also arranged. The influences of the AuNR-AgNW assemblies with different amounts of AuNRs attached on AgNWs on the optical properties and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement have been investigated. The resulting AuNR-AgNW/PVA electrospun mats show red-shifted and broader absorption bands and higher SERS performances compared with the normal casting films with randomly dispersed AuNRs and AgNWs, or electrospun mats with monometallic components, due to the order alignment of AuNR-AgNW nanocomposites on a large scale.Gold nanorods (AuNRs) can be successfully co-assembled with Ag nanowires (AgNWs) to form a kind of AuNR-AgNW nanocomposite by electrostatic attraction, in which the AuNRs are arranged along the long axial direction of the AgNWs with a preferential string-like alignment. The assembled AuNR-AgNW nanocomposites are then further embedded within polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers by electrospinning, by which both AuNRs and AgNWs can be stabilized and arranged along the axis of polymer nanofibers. When the polymer nanofibers are aligned by collecting on a copper mesh with a woven structure, the AuNR-AgNW nanocomposites assembled within the electrospun nanofibers are also arranged. The influences of the AuNR-AgNW assemblies with different amounts of AuNRs attached on AgNWs on the optical

. This article argues that, despite this critique, au pairing does play an important formative role for young Filipinas because it opens up for experiences abroad that enable them to be recognised as independent adults in Philippine society. Rather than autonomy, however, au pairs define their independence...... in terms of their capacity to assume responsibility for others, thereby achieving a position of social respect. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Denmark and the Philippines, this article explores how young Filipinas use the social, economic, and cultural resources they gain from their au pair stay abroad...

Adsorption of terephthalic acid on Au(1 0 0), Au(1 1 1) and Au(1 1 0) electrodes in neutral solution has been investigated using in situ Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, differential capacity measurements and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). At negative potentials, the terephthalate anions in solution adsorb in a flat orientation onto the electrode via the {pi} electrons of the aromatic ring. At positive potentials, the terephthalate anions adsorb in a vertical orientation via the oxygen atoms of one of the carboxyl groups as a form of dianion. At more positive potentials, the anions adsorb in a vertical orientation as a form of hydrogen terephthalate. For the three electrodes examined, the overtone and/or combination bands, due to vertically oriented hydrogen terephthalate, were observed at 2642 and 2517 cm{sup -1}, respectively. For the Au(1 1 1) electrode, STM observations indicated a flat orientation in the form of terephthalic acid. (author)

Relativistic heavy ion collisions at RHIC, produce a fireball of nuclear matter with extremely high energy density. The dynamical evolution of this fireball is driven by such fundamental properties as the nuclear Equation of State (EOS) and possibly by a phase transition, e.g., to a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). Two-particle correlation studies, for various particle species,provide an important probe of the space-time extent of this fireball. In recent measurements the PHENIX collaboration has used a model-independent imaging technique proposed by Brown and Danielewicz(D.Brown and P.Danieliwicz, Phys.Rev.C 64, 014902 (2001))to extract two-particle source functions directly from Au+Au and d+Au collisions at √sNN=200 GeV. Source images obtained from these two systems for various particle species for several centality and kt selections will be presented and compared/contrasted. The implications of these results for the decay dynamics of the fireball created at RHIC will also be dicussed.

We investigate deformation in high quality Au nanowires under both tension and bending using in-situ transmission electron microscopy. Defect evolution is investigated during: (1) tensile deformation of 〈110〉 oriented, initially defect-free, single crystal nanowires with cross-sectional widths between 30 and 300 nm, (2) bending deformation of the same wires, and (3) tensile deformation of wires containing coherent twin boundaries along their lengths. We observe the formation of twins and stacking faults in the single crystal wires under tension, and storage of full dislocations after bending of single crystal wires and after tension of twinned wires. The stress state dependence of the deformation morphology and the formation of stacking faults and twins are not features of bulk Au, where deformation is controlled by dislocation interactions. Instead, we attribute the deformation morphologies to the surface nucleation of either leading or trailing partial dislocations, depending on the Schmid factors, which move through and exit the wires producing stacking faults or full dislocation slip. The presence of obstacles such as neutral planes or twin boundaries hinder the egress of the freshly nucleated dislocations and allow trailing and leading partial dislocations to combine and to be stored as full dislocations in the wires. We infer that the twins and stacking faults often observed in nanoscale Au specimens are not a direct size effect but the result of a size and obstacle dependent transition from dislocation interaction controlled to dislocation nucleation controlled deformation.

We present an approach to fabricate tall high aspect ratio Au microstructures by means of proton beam direct writing. Combining proton beam direct writing and electroplating, we successfully produced gold structures with sub-micrometer lateral dimensions, structure heights in excess of 11 {mu}m, and aspect ratios over 28. Sidewall quality of the Au structures was improved by lowering the process temperature to 20 deg. C when developing PMMA patterns with GG developer. The application of such structures as X-ray masks for deep X-ray lithography with synchrotron radiation was demonstrated.

FePt thin films show in plane magnetism with a very large coercive force when they are deposited on lattice-mismatched substrates, such as glass or Si In our research, FePt alloy thin films were deposited, using the coevaporation method, on a Au buffer layer which was evaporated onto a Si substrate at 500 .deg. C. The magnetic easy axis of the FePt film changed from the in-plane direction to the normal direction of the film. Therefore, it can be said that a Au buffer layer can enhance the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of a FePt thin film on a lattice-mismatched substrate.

In the past 20 years, researchers studying nanomaterials have uncovered many new and interesting properties not found in bulk materials. Extensive research has focused on metal nanoparticles (>3 nm) because of their potential applications, such as in molecular electronics, image markers, and catalysts. In particular, the discovery of metal nanoclusters (properties for nanomaterials are intriguing, because for metal nanosystems in this size regime both size and shape determine electronic properties. Remarkably, changes in the optical properties of nanomaterials have provided tremendous insight into the electronic structure of nanoclusters. The success of synthesizing monolayer protected clusters (MPCs) in the condensed phase has allowed scientists to probe the metal core directly. Au MPCs have become the "gold" standard in nanocluster science, thanks to the rigorous structural characterization already accomplished. The use of ultrafast laser spectroscopy on MPCs in solution provides the benefit of directly studying the chemical dynamics of metal nanoclusters (core), and their nonlinear optical properties. In this Account, we investigate the optical properties of MPCs in the visible region using ultrafast spectroscopy. Based on fluorescence up-conversion spectroscopy, we propose an emission mechanism for these nanoclusters. These clusters behave differently from nanoparticles in terms of emission lifetimes as well as two-photon cross sections. Through further investigation of the transient (excited state) absorption, we have found many unique phenomena of nanoclusters, such as quantum confinement effects and vibrational breathing modes. In summary, based on the differences in the optical properties, the distinction between nanoclusters and nanoparticles appears at a size near 2.2 nm. This is consistent with simulations from a free-electron model proposed for MPCs. The use of ultrafast techniques on these nanoclusters can answer many of the fundamental questions about

Charged particles have been observed in collisions of Au on Au at incident energy of 150 A MeV using a high-granularity detector system covering approximatley the forward hemisphere in the center-of-mass system. Highly central collisions have been studied using a double selection criterion which combines large charged particle multiplicities with small transverse momentum directivities. In this class of events about one quarter of the total nuclear charge emerges as intermediate mass fragments with nuclear charges Z>2. These fragments are centred at midrapidity and are produced with large transverse velocities. (orig.).

BRAHMS has studied net-protons distributions in Au+Au and p+p collisions at √sNN=62.4 and 200 GeV. Net-proton distributions reflect the net-baryon yields and can be used to extract the nuclear stopping in the collisions, thus providing information on baryon number transport and energy available for particle production. The talk will present final and preliminary results from the above mentioned systems. It will be shown that in p+p and in Au+Au central collisions that net-proton distributions exhibit longitudinal scaling once the target contribution to the projectile rapidity range is corrected for. The difference between p+p and Au+Au will be discussed. Aspects of future measurements at the LHC of net-baryons at mid-rapidity will be brought forth.

... equivalent and a personality profile. Such personality profile will be based upon a psychometric test... such academic course work in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for EduCare au pair participants and in an...

We present recently published results [A. Adare, et al., arxiv:arXiv:1509.04657] on fully reconstructed R=0.3 anti-kt jets measured in p+p and d+Au collisions at 200 GeV center-of-mass energy. The jet yields for four centrality classes along with the p+p reference are presented, as well as both the minimum bias RdAu and centrality dependent RdAu and RCP. We find that while the minimum bias RdA is consistent with unity, providing a strong constraint on models including cold-nuclear-matter effects or energy loss in small systems, the centrality dependent RdAu show a striking variation which presents a challenge to models attempting to describe the interplay between soft and hard processes in these systems.

Particle production of identified charged hadrons, $\\pi^{\\pm}$, $K^{\\pm}$, $p$, and $\\bar{p}$ in Au+Au collisions at $\\snn =$ 200 GeV has been studied as a function of transverse momentum and collision centrality at $y=0$ and $y\\sim1$ by the BRAHMS experiment at RHIC. Significant collective transverse flow at kinetic freeze-out has been observed in the collisions. The magnitude of the flow rises with the collision centrality. Proton and kaon yields relative to the pion production increase strongly as the transverse momentum increases and also increase with centrality. Particle yields per participant nucleon show a weak dependence on the centrality for all particle species. Hadron production remains relatively constant within one unit around midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\\snn =$ 200 GeV.

Ligand-protected Au clusters are non-bleaching fluorescence markers in bio- and medical applications. We show that their fluorescence is an intrinsic property of the Au cluster itself. We find a very intense and sharp fluorescence peak located at λ =739.2 nm (1.68 eV) for Au20 clusters in a Ne matrix held at 6 K. The fluorescence reflects the HOMO-LUMO diabatic bandgap of the cluster. The cluster shows a very rich absorption fine structure reminiscent of well defined molecule-like quantum levels. These levels are resolved since Au20 has only one stable isomer (tetrahedral), therefore our sample is mono-disperse in cluster size and conformation. Density-functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations clarify the nature of optical absorptionand predict both main absorption peaks and intrinsic fluorescence in good agreement with experiment.

The author`s group has previously shown that isocyanides are readily adsorbed from solutions to Au powder and bind to the Au surface in an end-on fashion through the terminal carbon. Later work demonstrated that the equilibrium constants for the reversible adsorption of electronically inequivalent isocyanides could be obtained using the Langmuir isotherm technique. This dissertation describes two projects completed which complement the initial findings of this group. Initially, several alkylisocyanides were synthesized to examine the effect of tail length on Au powder adsorption. It was observed that the length of the alkyl chain affected not only the Au surface binding affinity, but also the rate of surface saturation and saturation coverage values. Direct competition studies were also studied using a {sup 13}C-labeled isocyanide. These studies demonstrated the stabilization afforded by substrate-substrate packing forces in SAM`s formed by the longer chain isocyanides. In a second study, di and triisocyanides were synthesized to determine the effect that the length of the connecting link and the number of isocyanide groups (as points of attachment) have on Au adsorption stability. The work in this area describes the binding modes, relative binding affinities and surface coverage values for a series of flexible alkyl and xylyldiisocyanides on Au powder surfaces. This report contains only the introductory material, and general summary. Two chapters have been processed separately. 56 refs.

We present a calculation for the vibrational properties of the ordered surface alloy Au(110)-1×2-Pd on a crystalline substrate of Au. The surface phonon dispersion curves and the local vibrations densities of states (LDOS) are calculated in the harmonic approximation for the system, using the phase field matching theory (PFMT) method and associated real space Green’s functions. In particular, it is shown that the surface alloy presents optic vibrational modes above the Au bulk bands, along the directions of high-symmetry ΓX¯, XS¯, SY¯ and Y Γ¯ of the corresponding two-dimensional Brillouin zone. Measurements of the surface phonon dispersion branches can hence be made by different techniques such as helium atom scattering (HAS) to compare with. The calculated LDOS for Au and Pd atomic sites in the four top surface atomic layers span a wider range of frequencies than those for the individual Au(110) or Pd(110) metallic surfaces. These LDOS provide a spectral signature for the progressive transition from the surface dynamics to that of the Au crystal bulk. Knowledge of these LDOS for the surface alloy can also serve as an input for modeling the diffusion and reaction rates of chemical species at its surface.

The author`s group has previously shown that isocyanides are readily adsorbed from solutions to Au powder and bind to the Au surface in an end-on fashion through the terminal carbon. Later work demonstrated that the equilibrium constants for the reversible adsorption of electronically inequivalent isocyanides could be obtained using the Langmuir isotherm technique. This dissertation describes two projects completed which complement the initial findings of this group. Initially, several alkylisocyanides were synthesized to examine the effect of tail length on Au powder adsorption. It was observed that the length of the alkyl chain affected not only the Au surface binding affinity, but also the rate of surface saturation and saturation coverage values. Direct competition studies were also studied using a 13C-labeled isocyanide. These studies demonstrated the stabilization afforded by substrate-substrate packing forces in SAM`s formed by the longer chain isocyanides. In a second study, di and triisocyanides were synthesized to determine the effect that the length of the connecting link and the number of isocyanide groups (as points of attachment) have on Au adsorption stability. The work in this area describes the binding modes, relative binding affinities and surface coverage values for a series of flexible alkyl and xylyldiisocyanides on Au powder surfaces. This report contains only the introductory material, and general summary. Two chapters have been processed separately. 56 refs.

We report a facile, two-step method for the micro-landscaping of Au nanoparticles(NPs) on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) film en route to micro-patterned Au(NPs)-rGO hybrid functional materials. This method employs a focused laser beam to first locally convert GO to rGO before immersing the micro-patterned GO-rGO film into HAuCl{sub 4} solution. The rGO micro-pattern, shaped by the focused laser beam, serves as nucleation sites for the reduction of Au ions. The reduction mechanism that governs the decoration of Au NPs on rGO films is akin to electroless deposition process. In this instance, surface charges that are formed during laser reduction of GO to rGO provide active nucleation sites for Au{sup 3+} ions to form Au NPs when HAuCl{sub 4} solution is introduced. The number density, the size, and size distribution of the Au NPs can thus be directly tuned and preferentially anchored onto the rGO micro-pattern by varying the incident laser power, the scanning speed of the laser, or the concentration of HAuCl{sub 4}. The resulting hybrid materials can be used as a substrate for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). Using Rhodamine 6G as the test subject, we found an improvement of SERS enhancement over bare rGO of up to four times, depending on the size of the Au NPs.

Nucleic acid-directed self-assembly provides an attractive method to fabricate prerequisite nanoscale structures for a wide range of technological applications due to the remarkable programmability of DNA/RNA molecules. In this study, exquisite RNAi-AuNP nanoconstructs with various geometries were developed by utilizing anti-VEGF siRNA molecules as RNAi-based therapeutics in addition to their role as building blocks for programmed self-assembly. In particular, the anti-VEGF siRNA-functionalized AuNP nanoconstructs can take additional advantage of gold-nanoclusters for photothermal cancer therapeutic agent. A noticeable technical aspect of self-assembled RNAi-AuNP nanoconstructs in this study is the precise conjugation and separation of designated numbers of therapeutic siRNA onto AuNP to develop highly sophisticated RNA-based building blocks capable of creating various geometries of RNAi-AuNP nano-assemblies. The therapeutic potential of RNAi-AuNP nanoconstructs was validated in vivo as well as in vitro by combining heat generation capability of AuNP and anti-angiogenesis mechanism of siRNA. This strategy of combining anti-VEGF mechanism for depleting angiogenesis process at initial tumor progression and complete ablation of residual tumors with photothermal activity of AuNP at later tumor stage showed effective tumor growth inhibition and tumor ablation with PC-3 tumor bearing mice. PMID:28042312

Arrays of Au/NiOx/Ni/Au nanowires with a diameter of 50 nm were characterized by conductive atomic force microscopy, which was used to probe the electrical behavior of single nanowires still included in the array. A bipolar switching of the single Au/NiOx/Ni/Au nanowires is demonstrated and is attributed to the choice of an asymmetric couple of electrode materials and, possibly, to a non-uniform Ni oxidation profile inside the NiOx segments. An analysis of the conduction mechanism in a single nanowire is presented to further support this conclusion.

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has performed systematic measurements of phi meson production in the K+K- decay channel at midrapidity in p+p, d+Au, Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(S_NN)=200 GeV. Results are presented on the phi invariant yield and the nuclear modification factor R_AA for Au+Au and Cu+Cu, and R_dA for d+Au collisions, studied as a function of transverse momentum (1

Identified charged particle spectra of {pi}{sup {+-}}, K{sup {+-}}, p and {bar p} at mid-rapidity (|y| < 0.1) measured by the dE/dx method in the STAR-TPC are reported for pp and d + Au collisions at {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV and for Au + Au collisions at 62.4 GeV, 130 GeV, and 200 GeV. Average transverse momenta, total particle production, particle yield ratios, strangeness and baryon production rates are investigated as a function of the collision system and centrality. The transverse momentum spectra are found to be flatter for heavy particles than for light particles in all collision systems; the effect is more prominent for more central collisions. The extracted average transverse momentum of each particle species follows a trend determined by the total charged particle multiplicity density. The Bjorken energy density estimate is at least several GeV/fm{sub 3} for a formation time less than 1 fm/c. A significantly larger net-baryon density and a stronger increase of the net-baryon density with centrality are found in Au + Au collisions at 62.4 GeV than at the two higher energies. Antibaryon production relative to total particle multiplicity is found to be constant over centrality, but increases with the collision energy. Strangeness production relative to total particle multiplicity is similar at the three measured RHIC energies. Relative strangeness production increases quickly with centrality in peripheral Au + Au collisions, to a value about 50% above the pp value, and remains rather constant in more central collisions. Bulk freeze-out properties are extracted from thermal equilibrium model and hydrodynamics-motivated blast-wave model fits to the data. Resonance decays are found to have little effect on the extracted kinetic freeze-out parameters due to the transverse momentum range of our measurements. The extracted chemical freeze-out temperature is constant, independent of collision system or centrality; its value is close to the predicted phase

We have demonstrated a facile approach for the fabrication of flexible and reliable sulfydryl functionalized PVA/PEI nanofibers with excellent water stability for the self-assembly of Au nanocrystals, such as Au nanoparticles (AuNPs), Au nanoflowers (AuNFs) and Au nanorods (AuNRs), used as the highly efficient surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates for the detection of rhodamine B (RhB). Various methods were employed to cross-link the PVA nanofibers with better morphology and porous structures after immersing in water for desired times. Various SERS-active Au nanocrystals, such as AuNPs, AuNFs, and AuNRs have been successfully synthesized. After the grafting of MPTES on the cross-linked PVA/PEI nanofibers, the Au nanocrystals can easily be self-assembled on the surfaces of the nanofibers because of the strong interactions of the Au-S chemical bondings. The Au nanocrystals self-assembled throughout the PVA/PEI nanofibers used as SERS substrates all exhibit enhanced SERS signals of RhB compared with their individual nanocrystals. It is mainly due to the close interparticle distance, mutual orientation and high density of "hot" spots, that can strongly affect the overall optical response and the SERS enhancement. By changing the amounts of the self-assembled AuNFs on the nanofibers, we can control the density of the "hot" spots. With the increased amounts of the AuNFs throughout the nanofibers, the SERS substrates show enhanced Raman signals of the RhB, indicating that the increased density of "hot" spots can directly lead to the SERS enhancement. The AuNFs/(PVA/PEI) SERS substrates show good sensitivity, reliability and low detection limit (10(-9) M). The presented approach can be broadly applicable to the assembly of different types of plasmonic nanostructures and these novel materials with strong SERS enhancement can be applied in bioanalysis and biosensors.

Platinum-gold heteronanostructures comprising either dimer (Pt-Au) or core-satellite (Pt@Au) configurations were synthesized by means of a seeded growth procedure using platinum nanodendrites as seeds. Careful control of the reduction kinetics of the gold precursor can be used to direct the nucleation and growth of gold nanoparticles on either one or multiple surface sites simultaneously, leading to the formation of either dimers or core-satellite nanoparticles, respectively, in high yields. Characterization by electron tomography and high resolution electron microscopy provided a better understanding of the actual three-dimensional particle morphology, as well as the Au-Pt interface, revealing quasi-epitaxial growth of Au on Pt. The prepared Pt-Au bimetallic nanostructures are highly efficient catalysts for ethanol oxidation in alkaline solution, showing accurate selectivity, high sensitivity, and improved efficiency by generating higher current densities than their monometallic counterparts.Platinum-gold heteronanostructures comprising either dimer (Pt-Au) or core-satellite (Pt@Au) configurations were synthesized by means of a seeded growth procedure using platinum nanodendrites as seeds. Careful control of the reduction kinetics of the gold precursor can be used to direct the nucleation and growth of gold nanoparticles on either one or multiple surface sites simultaneously, leading to the formation of either dimers or core-satellite nanoparticles, respectively, in high yields. Characterization by electron tomography and high resolution electron microscopy provided a better understanding of the actual three-dimensional particle morphology, as well as the Au-Pt interface, revealing quasi-epitaxial growth of Au on Pt. The prepared Pt-Au bimetallic nanostructures are highly efficient catalysts for ethanol oxidation in alkaline solution, showing accurate selectivity, high sensitivity, and improved efficiency by generating higher current densities than their

Grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction has been used to determine the atomic arrangement in the 5 x 1 structure of Au on Si(111). The main features of this structure are partially occupied rows of gold atoms in low-symmetry sites. The density of Au atoms is highly asymmetric in the direction perpend...

Postsynthesis ammonium treatment induces a substantial increase in the catalytic activity of Au/Ti- SBA-15 catalysts for the direct vapor-phase epoxidation of propylene using hydrogen and oxygen. The PO formation rate of a calcined Au/Ti-SBA-15 catalyst prepared by this method increased from 4.3 mgP

Using the FOPI facility at GSI Darmstadt complete data of Au on Au collisions at 150A MeV were collected for charged products (Z=1-15) at laboratory angles 1°=3) are used to determine the collective energy which is found to be at least 10A MeV.

Full Text Available The adsorption of the proteins CD13, mucin and bovine serum albumin on VLGXE-Au and YNGRT-Au interfaces was monitored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in the presence of [Fe(CN6]3−/4−. The hydrophobicity of the Au surface was tailored using specific peptides, blocking agents and diluents. The combination of blocking agents (ethanolamine or n-butylamine and diluents (hexanethiol or 2-mercaptoethanol was used to prepare various peptide-modified Au surfaces. Protein adsorption onto the peptide-Au surfaces modified with the combination of n-butylamine and hexanethiol produced a dramatic decrease in the charge transfer resistance, Rct, for all three proteins. In contrast, polar peptide-surfaces induced a minimal change in Rct for all three proteins. Furthermore, an increase in Rct was observed with CD13 (an aminopeptidase overexpressed in certain cancers in comparison to the other proteins when the VLGXE-Au surface was modified with n-butylamine as a blocking agent. The electrochemical data indicated that protein adsorption may be modulated by tailoring the peptide sequence on Au surfaces and that blocking agents and diluents play a key role in promoting or preventing protein adsorption. The peptide-Au platform may also be used for targeting cancer biomarkers with designer peptides.

Charged particle pseudorapidity distributions have been measured in Au + Au collisions using the BRAHMS detector at RHIC. The results are presented as a function of the collision centrality and the center of mass energy. They are compared to the predictions of different parton scattering models and the important role of hard scattering processes at RHIC energies is discussed.

One of the best methods for producing bulk homogeneous (composition) supported bimetallic AuPd clusters involves the immobilization of a protected Au seed followed by the addition of Pd. This paper investigates the importance of this gold seed in controlling the resulting bimetallic AuPd clusters structures, sizes and catalytic activities by investigating three different gold seeds. Uniform Au-Pd alloy were obtained when a steric/electrostatic protecting group, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), was used to form the gold clusters on activated carbon (AC). In contrast Au/AC precursors prepared using Au nanoparticles with only electrostatic stabilization (tetrakis(hydroxypropyl)phosphonium chloride (THPC)), or no stabilization (magnetron sputtering) produced inhomogeneous alloys and segregation of the gold and palladium. The uniform alloyed catalyst (Pd{at}Au{sub PVA}/AC) is the most active and selective catalyst, while the inhomogenous catalysts are less active and selective. Further study of the PVA protected Au clusters revealed that the amount of PVA used is also critical for the preparation of uniform alloyed catalyst, their stability, and their catalytic activity.

The azimuthal angle distributions of neutral pions at midrapidity from Au+Au reactions at 1 GeV/nucleon incident energy have been measured. An enhanced emission of pi0's perpendicular to the reaction plane is observed. The azimuthal asymmetry is dependent on the pi0 momentum: the pi0 spectrum perpen

Several correlation analysis techniques are applied to p-p and Au-Au collisions at RHIC. Strong large-momentum-scale correlations are observed which can be related to local charge and momentum conservation during hadronization and to minijet (minimum-bias parton fragment) correlations.

Event shapes for Au + Au collisions at 11.4 GeV/[ital c] per nucleon were studied over nearly the full solid angle with the E877 apparatus. The analysis was performed by Fourier expansion of azimuthal distributions of the transverse energy ([ital E][sub [ital T

We report on the crystal structure and electronic bands of LaAu2 and CeAu2 surface intermetallic compounds grown by high-temperature deposition on Au(111). By scanning-tunneling microscopy we study the formation of different alloy phases as a function of growth temperature and lanthanide coverage. We determine the specific growth conditions to achieve monolayers and bilayers of LaAu2 and CeAu2 with high crystalline quality. Due to lattice mismatch with the underlying Au substrate, both LaAu2 and CeAu2 exhibit long-range moiré patterns, which can serve as templates for further nanostructure growth. By angle-resolved photoemission we map the two-dimensional band structure of these surface alloys, discussing the nature of the different spectral features in the light of first-principles calculations.

The authors have examined the direct anodic oxidation of gold in concentrated H//2SO//4 to more fully understand the chemical reactions. Au//2(SO//4)//3 is unstable and cannot be isolated for chemical analysis, but our experiments are consistent with the formation of Au//2(SO//4)//3 in concentrated H//2SO//4, in which it is stable. Equations describing chemical reactions which are compatible with the experimental data are presented.

Full Text Available Synthesis of metal-semiconductor heterostructures may allow the combination of function of the corresponding components and/or the enhanced performance resulting from the interactions between all the components. In this paper, Au@Cu2O core-shell heterostructures are prepared by a seed-growth method, using different-shaped Au nanocrystals as the seeds such as nanorods, octahedra, decahedra, dots, and nanocubes. The results revealed that the final structure of Au@Cu2O was greatly influenced by the shape of the seeds used. Exposure of Cu2O{111} and Cu2O{001} favored when the overgrowth happened on Au{111} and Au{001} surface, respectively. The size of the product can also be tuned by the amount of the seeds. The results reported here provide a thinking clue to modulate the shape and size of core-shell nanocrystals, which is useful in developing new materials with desired performance.

We present a density functional theory study of the oxidation of 1D periodic rods supported along the [001] direction on the rutile TiO2(110) surface. The study shows evidence for an oxidation of the interface between the supported Au and the TiO2 crystal. The added O atoms adsorb at the 5f-Ti at...

One-dimensional pi-conjugated polymer chains with variable lengths have been synthesized successfully via thermal polymerization reaction on the Au(111) surface. Such polymer chains form parallel arrays along specific directions according to the initial assembly orientations of the close-packed Br...

Recent data from RHIC suggest novel nuclear effects in the production of high p{sub T} hadrons. We present results from the STAR detector on high p{sub T} angular correlations in Au+Au and p+p collisions at {radical}S = 200 GeV/c. These two-particle angular correlation measurements verify the presence of a partonic hard scattering and fragmentation component at high p{sub T} in both central and peripheral Au+Au collisions. When triggering on a leading hadron with p{sub T}>4 GeV, we observe a quantitative agreement between the jet cone properties in p+p and all centralities of Au+Au collisions. This quantitative agreement indicates that nearly all hadrons with p{sub T}>4 GeV/c come from jet fragmentation and that jet fragmentation properties are not substantially modified in Au+Au collisions. STAR has also measured the strength of back-to-back high p{sub T} charged hadron correlations, and observes a small suppression of the back-to-back correlation strength in peripheral collisions, and a nearly complete disappearance o f back-to-back correlations in central Au+Au events. These phenomena, together with the observed strong suppression of inclusive yields and large value of elliptic flow at high p{sub T}, are consistent with a model where high p{sub T} hadrons come from partons created near the surface of the collision region, and where partons that originate or propagate towards the center of the collision region are substantially slowed or completely absorbed.

The direct growth of planar-twinned Au nanoparticles (NPs) in high yield remains a challenge in shape-controlled NP synthesis largely because suitable planar-twinned seeds for Au NP growth have not been identified to date. Herein we describe the use of planar-twinned Ag triangular nanoprisms as a means to dictate Au NP twin structure. In a one-pot process, the Ag triangular nanoprisms first undergo oxidative Au replacement, forming Ag-Au alloy nanoframes and concomitantly releasing Ag(+) into solution, which then directs subsequent Au NP growth through an underpotential deposition process. The planar-twinned structure of the initial Ag nanoprism is maintained throughout particle growth. Using this method, we have successfully synthesized Au hexagonal bipyramids in high yield for the first time.

The transverse momentum (pT) spectra and ratios of identified charged hadrons (π±, K±, p, p¯) produced in sNN=200 GeV Au+Au and d+Au collisions are reported in five different centrality classes for each collision species. The measurements of pions and protons are reported up to pT=6 GeV/c (5 GeV/c), and the measurements of kaons are reported up to pT=4 GeV/c (3.5 GeV/c) in Au+Au (d+Au) collisions. In the intermediate pT region, between 2 and 5 GeV/c, a significant enhancement of baryon-to-meson ratios compared to those measured in p+p collisions is observed. This enhancement is present in both Au+Au and d+Au collisions and increases as the collisions become more central. We compare a class of peripheral Au+Au collisions with a class of central d+Au collisions which have a comparable number of participating nucleons and binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The pT-dependent particle ratios for these classes display a remarkable similarity, which is then discussed.

The transverse momentum (p_T) spectra and ratios of identified charged hadrons (\\pi^+/-, K^+/-, p, p^bar) produced in sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV Au+Au and d+Au collisions are reported in five different centrality classes for each collision species. The measurements of pions and protons are reported up to p_T=6 GeV/c (5 GeV/c), and the measurements of kaons are reported up to p_T=4 GeV/c (3.5 GeV/c) in Au+Au (d+Au) collisions. In the intermediate p_T region, between 2--5 GeV/c, a significant enhancement of baryon to meson ratios compared to those measured in p+p collisions is observed. This enhancement is present in both Au+Au and d+Au collisions, and increases as the collisions become more central. We compare a class of peripheral Au+Au collisions with a class of central d+Au collisions which have a comparable number of participating nucleons and binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The p_T dependent particle ratios for these classes display a remarkable similarity, which is then discussed.

The present work proposes a theoretical method called ionization dynamics to derive the ionic charge state distribution. Using relativistic quantum mechanics to calculate the energy level lifetime and average ionic lifetime of each ion, the first-order ionization rate constant can be obtained. Based on these data, from the solution of differential equations for consecutive-irreversible ionization reactions, one will be able to derive the ionic charge state distribution.The calculated average positive charge 49.24 of Au48+ ～ Au52+ and their relative distribution are in good agreement with the results of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Graphene sheets decorated with Au nanodots are synthesized by deposition of Au of three different thicknesses and subsequent annealing at 400 °C. Different thicknesses of Au film for the formation of Au nanodots on graphene are measured using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and morphology is studied using scanning electron microscopy. Raman spectroscopy indicates 3–6-fold increase in I{sub D}/I{sub G} ratio depending on the content of Au deposited on graphene. The increase in disorder in Au decorated graphene layers is explained on the basis of interaction of Au atoms with Π bonds of graphene. The splitting and blueshift in G band signifies compressive strain in Au deposited graphene. X-ray diffraction studies using synchrotron radiation source confirm compressive strain in graphene, which increases with increase of Au film thickness.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a useful technique for in vitro amplification of a DNA fragment. In this paper, a PCR procedure using Au nanoparticle (AuNP) -bound primers was systemically studied. The 5′-SH- (CH2)6-modified primers were covalently attached to the AuNP surface via Au-S bonds, and plasmid pBluescript SK was used as a template. The effects of the concentration of AuNP-bound primers, annealing temperature and PCR cycles were evaluated, respectively. The results indicate that PCR can proceed successfully under optimized condition, with either forward or reverse primers bound to the AuNP surface or with both the two primers bound to the AuNP surface. Development of PCR procedure based on AuNPs not only makes the isolation of PCR products very convenient, but also provides novel methods to prepare AuNP-bound ssDNA and nanostructured material.

Lactobacillus para paracasei are used commonly as functional food and probiotic substances. In this work Au nanoparticles self-assembled films were used for Lactobacillus para paracasei determination at five different concentrations. Functionalized substrates were immersed in a colloidal solution for one and a half hour at room temperature and dried at room temperature during four hours. After that, drops of Lactobacillus para paracasei in aqueous solution were put into the Au nanoparticles film and let dry at room temperature for another two hours. Infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance sampling mode was used to observe generation peaks due to substrate silanization, enhancement of Si-O band intensity due to the Au colloids added to silanized substrate and also to observe the enhancement of Lactobacillus para paracasei infrared intensity of the characteristic frequencies at 1650, 1534 and 1450 cm{sup -1} due to surface enhancement infrared absorption.

The refractive index sensitivity of localized surface plasmon resonance sensors can be improved by placing the plasmonic metal particles on pillars instead of on a planar substrate. In this paper, a simple and versatile colloidal lithography method for the fabrication of plasmonic Au islands on top of polymer nanopillars is described. The pillar height is controlled by varying the thickness of the initial polymer film. An increased pillar height results in a blue shift of the absorption spectrum of the Au islands. This is explained by a decreased effective refractive index around the islands. For pillars higher than approximately 40 nm no further blue shift is observed, in agreement with the decay length of the electromagnetic field around the islands. Pillar-supported Au islands were also fabricated on a flexible foil, demonstrating the potential of the method described here for the fabrication of flexible plasmonic substrates. Benefits and limitations of the method and of using polymers as the pillar material are discussed.

Lactobacillus para paracasei are used commonly as functional food and probiotic substances. In this work Au nanoparticles self-assembled films were used for Lactobacillus para paracasei determination at five different concentrations. Functionalized substrates were immersed in a colloidal solution for one and a half hour at room temperature and dried at room temperature during four hours. After that, drops of Lactobacillus para paracasei in aqueous solution were put into the Au nanoparticles film and let dry at room temperature for another two hours. Infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance sampling mode was used to observe generation peaks due to substrate silanization, enhancement of Si-O band intensity due to the Au colloids added to silanized substrate and also to observe the enhancement of Lactobacillus para paracasei infrared intensity of the characteristic frequencies at 1650, 1534 and 1450 cm-1 due to surface enhancement infrared absorption.

The optical spectra of ordered AuCu3 have been measured at low temperatures by a direct ellipsometric technique. We find several structural elements above the absorption edge as well as in the infrared. The measured spectra are interpreted in terms of the interband absorption calculated from an ab...... initio band structure obtained by the relativistic linear muffin-tin orbitals method. The band calculation reveals that ordered AuCu3 has distinct copper and gold d bands positioned in and hybridizing with an s band common to copper and gold. The calculated state density is found to be in good agreement...

The atomic structure of the Au 6 x 6 on Si(111) phase has been determined using direct methods and surface X-ray diffraction data. This surface structure is very complicated, with 14 independent gold atoms, relaxations in 24 independent silicon sites and three partially occupied gold sites. In one...... sense the structure can be described as microdomains of the parent root 3 x root 3 Au on Si(111) structure. A better description is in terms of a tiling of incomplete pentagonal and trimer units, essentially a pseudopentagonal glass. In terms of these structural units it appears possible to explain all...

The ultraviolet photodissociation dynamics of the gold-rare gas atom van der Waals complexes (Au-RG, RG=Ar, Kr, and Xe) have been studied by velocity map imaging. Photofragmentation of Au-Ar and Au-Kr at several wavelengths permits extrapolation to zero of the total kinetic energy release (TKER) spectra as monitored in the Au(P23/2∘[5d106p]) fragment channel, facilitating the determination of ground state dissociation energies of D0″(Au-Ar)=149±13 cm-1 and D0″(Au-Kr)=240±19 cm-1, respectively. In the same spectral region, transitions to vibrational levels of an Ω'=1/2 state of the Au-Xe complex result in predissociation to the lower Au(P21/2∘[5d106p])+Xe(S10[5p6]) fragment channel for which TKER extrapolation yields a value of D0″(Au-Xe)=636±27 cm-1. Asymmetric line shapes for transitions to the v'=14 level of this state indicate coupling to the Au(P23/2∘[5d106p])+Xe(S10[5p6]) continuum, which allows us to refine this value to D0″(Au-Xe)=607±5 cm-1. The dissociation dynamics of this vibrational level have been studied at the level of individual isotopologues by fitting the observed excitation spectra to Fano profiles. These fits reveal a remarkable variation in the predissociation dynamics for different Au-Xe isotopologues. For Au-Ar and Au-Xe, the determined ground state dissociation energies are in good agreement with recent theoretical calculations; the agreement of the Au-Kr value with theory is less satisfactory.

Gold nanoparticles with varying sizes were prepared by the spray process under an electric field (DC voltages of 0 V and 1 kV applied to the nozzle) for studying their role in inverted organic solar cells (ITO/Au/ZnO/P3HT:PCBM/Ag). The application of electric field during the spray process resulted in a smaller size (35 nm as compared to 70 nm without the electric field) of the nanoparticles with more uniform distribution. This gave rise to a difference in the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect created by the gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), which then affected the solar cell performance. The photovoltaic performances of plasmonic inverted organic solar cells (ITO/Au/ZnO/P3HT:PCBM/Ag) using spray-deposited Au and ZnO layers (both at 1 kV) showed improved efficiency. Fast exciton quenching in the P3HT:PCBM layer was achieved by using a spray-deposited Au layer in between ITO and ZnO layers. The absorption spectra and internal power conversion efficiency (IPCE) curve showed that the Au nanoparticles provide significant plasmonic broadband light absorption enhancement which resulted in the enhancement of the JSC value. Maximum efficiency of 3.6% was achieved for the inverted organic solar cell (IOSC) with an exceptionally high short circuit current density of ∼15 mA cm(-2) which is due to the additional photon absorption and the corresponding increase observed in the IPCE spectrum. The spray technique can be easily applied for the direct formation of Au nanoparticles in the fabrication of IOSC with improved performance over a large area.

Despite the fact that Au-Ag hollow nanoparticles (HNPs) have gained much attention as ablation agents for photothermal therapy, the instability of the Ag element limits their applications. Herein, excess Au atoms were deposited on the surface of a Au-Ag HNP by improving the reduction power of l-ascorbic acid (AA) and thereby preventing the reaction between HAuCl4 and the Ag element in the Au-Ag alloy nanostructure. Significantly, the obtained Au-Ag@Au HNPs show excellent chemical stability in an oxidative environment, together with remarkable increase in extinction peak intensity and obvious narrowing in peak width. Moreover, finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) was used to simulate the optical properties and electric field distribution of HNPs. The calculated results show that the proportion of absorption cross section in total extinction cross section increases with the improvement of Au content in HNP. As predicted by the theoretical calculation results, Au-Ag@Au nanocages (NCs) exhibit a photothermal transduction efficiency (η) as high as 36.5% at 808 nm, which is higher than that of Au-Ag NCs (31.2%). Irradiated by 808 nm laser at power densities of 1 W/cm(2), MCF-7 breast cancer cells incubated with PEGylated Au-Ag@Au NCs were seriously destroyed. Combined together, Au-Ag@Au HNPs with enhanced chemical stability and improved photothermal transduction efficiency show superior competitiveness as photothermal agents.

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has measured omega meson production via leptonic and hadronic decay channels in p+p, d+Au, Cu+Cu, and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The invariant transverse momentum spectra measured in different decay modes give consistent results. Measurements in the hadronic decay channel in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions show that omega production has a suppression pattern at high transverse momentum, similar to that of pi^0 and e...

Synthesis of atom-precise alloy nanoclusters with uniform composition is challenging when the alloying atoms are similar in size (for example, Ag and Au). A galvanic exchange strategy has been devised to produce a compositionally uniform [Ag24Au(SR)18]- cluster (SR: thiolate) using a pure [Ag25(SR)18]- cluster as a template. Conversely, the direct synthesis of Ag24Au cluster leads to a mixture of [Ag25-xAux(SR)18]-, x=1-8. Mass spectrometry and crystallography of [Ag24Au(SR)18]- reveal the presence of the Au heteroatom at the Ag25 center, forming Ag24Au. The successful exchange of the central Ag of Ag25 with Au causes perturbations in the Ag25 crystal structure, which are reflected in the absorption, luminescence, and ambient stability of the particle. These properties are compared with those of Ag25 and Ag24Pd clusters with same ligand and structural framework, providing new insights into the modulation of cluster properties with dopants at the single-atom level.

Most of the exoplanets known today have been discovered by indirect techniques, based on the study of the host star radial velocity or photometric temporal variations. These detections allowed the study of the planet populations in the first 5-8 AU from the central stars and have provided precious information on the way planets form and evolve at such separations. Direct imaging on 8-10 m class telescopes allows the detection of giant planets at larger separations (currently typically more than 5-10 AU) complementing the indirect techniques. So far, only a few planets have been imaged around young stars, but each of them provides an opportunity for unique dedicated studies of their orbital, physical and atmospheric properties and sometimes also on the interaction with the 'second-generation', debris discs. These few detections already challenge formation theories. In this paper, I present the results of direct imaging surveys obtained so far, and what they already tell us about giant planet (GP) formation and evolution. Individual and emblematic cases are detailed; they illustrate what future instruments will routinely deliver for a much larger number of stars. I also point out the limitations of this approach, as well as the needs for further work in terms of planet formation modelling. I finally present the progress expected in direct imaging in the near future, thanks in particular to forthcoming planet imagers on 8-10 m class telescopes.

The adsorption of metal-free phthalocyanine molecules on an anisotropic Au(1 1 0)(1 × 2) surface has been studied with ultraviolet (UV) photoemission, low-energy electron diffraction and low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. In all cases, the molecules form rows in the [1 \\bar{1} 0] direction, i.e. along the troughs of the reconstructed substrates. However, depending on the exposure and adsorption temperature, the substrate maintains (1 × 2)- or transforms into a (1 × 3)-reconstruction, and the molecular separation along the rows shrink from six to five times the Au-Au interatomic distance. The results are in agreement with previous density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Full Text Available Collective flow and femtoscopy in ultrarelativistic 3He–Au collisions are investigated within the 3+1-dimensional (3+1D viscous event-by-event hydrodynamics. We evaluate elliptic and triangular flow coefficients as functions of the transverse momentum. We find the typical long-range ridge structures in the two-particle correlations in the relative azimuth and pseudorapidity, in the pseudorapidity directions of both Au and 3He. We also make predictions for the pionic interferometric radii, which decrease with the transverse momentum of the pion pair. All features found hint on collectivity of the dynamics of the system formed in 3He–Au collisions, with hydrodynamics leading to quantitative agreement with the up-to-now released data.

The ultrasonic wedge bonding with d25 μm copper wire was achieved on Au/Ni plated Cu substrate at ambient temperature. Ultrasonic wedge bonding mechanism was investigated by using SEM/EDX, pull test, shear test and microhardness test. The results show that the thinning of the Au layer occurs directly below the center of the bonding tool with the bonding power increasing. The interdiffusion between copper wire and Au metallization during the wedge bonding is assumed negligible, and the wedge bonding is achieved by wear action induced by ultrasonic vibration. The ultrasonic power contributes to enhance the deformation of copper wire due to ultrasonic softening effect which is then followed by the strain hardening of the copper wedge bonding.

Adsorption of 0.5 monolayers (ML) of Sb on the Au(1 1 0) surface resulted in the formation of a c(2 x 2) surface reconstruction. Analysis of surface X-ray diffraction data by a direct method revealed the existence of an ordered substitutional surface alloy, with every other hollow site occupied by Au and Sb atoms. Quantitative conventional {chi}{sup 2} refinement showed a contraction of 0.12 {+-} 0.03 Angstroms in the spacing of the first Au layer to the second, an expansion of 0.13 {+-} 0.03 Angstroms in the second-to-third layer distance, and an inward Sb displacement (rumpling) of 0.21 {+-} 0.04 Angstroms. This surface phase proved to be extremely robust, with the long-range order of this arrangement remaining up to substrate temperatures of 900 K.

The precise perturbation of gene circuits and the direct observation of signaling pathways in living cells are essential for both fundamental biology and translational medicine. Current optogenetic technology offers a new paradigm of optical control for cells; however, this technology relies on permanent genomic modifications with light-responsive genes, thus limiting dynamic reconfiguration of gene circuits. Here, we report precise control of perturbation and reconfiguration of gene circuits in living cells by optically addressable siRNA-Au nanoantennas. The siRNA-Au nanoantennas fulfill dual functions as selectively addressable optical receivers and biomolecular emitters of small interfering RNA (siRNA). Using siRNA-Au nanoantennas as optical inputs to existing circuit connections, photonic gene circuits are constructed in living cells. We show that photonic gene circuits are modular, enabling subcircuits to be combined on-demand. Photonic gene circuits open new avenues for engineering functional gene circuits useful for fundamental bioscience, bioengineering, and medical applications.

Production cross-sections of the {sup nat}Pt(d,x){sup 199}Au reactions have been measured from a 24-MeV deuteron energy down to the threshold by using a stacked-foil activation technique combined with HPGe γ-ray spectrometry. Only a partial agreement is obtained with the existing literature data. Theoretical data extracted from the TENDL-2013 library shows large discrepancy with the measured ones. Physical thick target yield for the {sup 199}Au radionuclide was deduced using the measured cross-sections, and found a general agreement with the directly measured yield available in the literature. This study reveals that a low deuteron energy (<15 MeV) cyclotron and an enriched {sup 198}Pt (100%) target could be used to obtain {sup 199}Au in no carrier added form.

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured ω meson production via leptonic and hadronic decay channels in p+p, d+Au, Cu+Cu, and Au+Au collisions at sNN = 200 GeV. The invariant transverse momentum spectra measured in different decay modes give consistent results. Measurements in the hadronic decay channel in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions show that ω production has a suppression pattern at high transverse momentum, similar to that of π0 and η in central collisions, but no suppression is observed in peripheral collisions. The nuclear modification factors, RAA, are consistent in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at similar numbers of participant nucleons.

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has measured omega meson production via leptonic and hadronic decay channels in p+p, d+Au, Cu+Cu, and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The invariant transverse momentum spectra measured in different decay modes give consistent results. Measurements in the hadronic decay channel in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions show that omega production has a suppression pattern at high transverse momentum, similar to that of pi^0 and eta in central collisions, but no suppression is observed in peripheral collisions. The nuclear modification factors, R_AA, are consistent in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at similar numbers of participant nucleons.

Nanoporous Au attracts great technological interest and it is a promising candidate for optical and electrochemical sensors. In addition to nanoporous Au leafs and films, recently, interest was focused on nanoporous Au micro- and nano-structures on surfaces. In this work we report on the study of the characteristics of nanoporous Au structures produced on surfaces. We developed the following procedures to fabricate the nanoporous Au structures: we deposited thin Au/Ag bilayers on SiO2 or FTO (fluorine-doped tin oxide) substrates with thickness xAu and xAg of the Au and Ag layers; we induced the alloying and dewetting processes of the bilayers by furnace annealing processes of the bilayers deposited on SiO2 and by laser irradiations of the bilayers deposited on FTO; the alloying and dewetting processes result in the formation of AuxAgy alloy sub-micron particles being x and y tunable by xAu and xAg. These particles are dealloyed in HNO3 solution to remove the Ag atoms. We obtain, so, nanoporous sub-micron Au particles on the substrates. Analyzing the characteristics of these particles we find that: a) the size and shape of the particles depend on the nature of the dewetting process (solid-state dewetting on SiO2, molten-state dewetting on FTO); b) the porosity fraction of the particles depends on how the alloying process is reached: about 32% of porosity for the particles fabricated by the furnace annealing at 900 °C, about 45% of porosity for the particles fabricated by the laser irradiation at 0.5 J/cm2, in both cases independently on the Ag concentration in the alloy; c) After the dealloying process the mean volume of the Au particles shrinks of about 39%; d) After an annealing at 400 °C the nanoporous Au particles reprise their initial volume while the porosity fraction is reduced. Arguments to justify these behaviors are presented.

Bimetallic nanoparticles with core-shell structures usually display enhanced catalytic properties due to the lattice strain created between the core and shell regions. In this study, we demonstrate the application of bimetallic Au-Pd nanoparticles with an Au core and a thin Pd shell as cathode catalysts in microbial fuel cells, which represent a promising technology for wastewater treatment, while directly generating electrical energy. In specific, in comparison with the hollow structured Pt nanoparticles, a benchmark for the electrocatalysis, the bimetallic core-shell Au-Pd nanoparticles are found to have superior activity and stability for oxygen reduction reaction in a neutral condition due to the strong electronic interaction and lattice strain effect between the Au core and the Pd shell domains. The maximum power density generated in a membraneless single-chamber microbial fuel cell running on wastewater with core-shell Au-Pd as cathode catalysts is ca. 16.0 W m−3 and remains stable over 150 days, clearly illustrating the potential of core-shell nanostructures in the applications of microbial fuel cells. PMID:27734945

A one-step electrochemical method based on sacrificial anode electrolysis (SAE) was used to deposit stabilized gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) directly on the surface of nanostructured ZnO powders, previously synthesized through a sol-gel process. The effect of thermal annealing temperatures (300 and 550 °C) on chemical, morphological, and structural properties of pristine and Au-doped ZnO nancomposites (Au@ZnO) was investigated. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM and SEM), as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), revealed the successful deposition of nanoscale gold on the surface of spherical and rod-like ZnO nanostructures, obtained after annealing at 300 and 550 °C, respectively. The pristine ZnO and Au@ZnO nanocomposites are proposed as active layer in chemiresistive gas sensors for low-cost processing. Gas-sensing measurements towards NO2 were collected at 300 °C, evaluating not only the Au-doping effect, but also the influence of the different ZnO nanostructures on the gas-sensing properties.

Direct gas-phase epoxidation of propene to propene oxide over a heterogeneous catalyst holds the potential to revolutionize production of one of the world's major commodity chemicals. New research into fundamental aspects of propene chemistry on nanoparticulate catalysts will help guide strategies for materials development. In the current study, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) have been employed to explore the molecular-level details of propene and propene oxide binding at a Au/TiO2 catalyst. Competitive binding studies for propene and carbon monoxide reveal that propene readily displaces CO from: first, interfacial Au ||TiO2 sites, then low coordinated Au sites at particulate corners and edges, and finally terrace regions of the particles. DFT calculations show that the Cdbnd C bond of propene weakens upon coordination to Au, which suggests that these sites may activate the molecule for epoxidation. Like propene, propene oxide adsorbs on both Au sites and Ti sites. In addition, Ti-OH sites also readily bind the oxide. However, competitive binding experiments show that the propene oxide adsorption is favored relative to propene on all sites, which would likely passivate the catalyst at room temperature.

Bimetallic nanoparticles with core-shell structures usually display enhanced catalytic properties due to the lattice strain created between the core and shell regions. In this study, we demonstrate the application of bimetallic Au-Pd nanoparticles with an Au core and a thin Pd shell as cathode catalysts in microbial fuel cells, which represent a promising technology for wastewater treatment, while directly generating electrical energy. In specific, in comparison with the hollow structured Pt nanoparticles, a benchmark for the electrocatalysis, the bimetallic core-shell Au-Pd nanoparticles are found to have superior activity and stability for oxygen reduction reaction in a neutral condition due to the strong electronic interaction and lattice strain effect between the Au core and the Pd shell domains. The maximum power density generated in a membraneless single-chamber microbial fuel cell running on wastewater with core-shell Au-Pd as cathode catalysts is ca. 16.0 W m‑3 and remains stable over 150 days, clearly illustrating the potential of core-shell nanostructures in the applications of microbial fuel cells.

A novel magnetically responsive and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) active nanocomposite is designed and prepared by direct grafting of Au nanoparticles onto the surface of magnetic network nanostructure (MNN) with the help of a nontoxic and environmentally friendly reagent of inositol hexakisphosphate shortly named as IP6. The presence of IP6 as a stabilizer and a bridging agent could weave Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) into magnetic network nanostructure, which is easily dotted with Au nanoparticles (Au NPs). It has been shown firstly that the huge Raman enhancement of Au-MNN is reached by an external magnetic collection. Au-MNN presenting the large surface and high detection sensitivity enables it to exhibit multifunctional applications involving sufficient adsorption of dissolved chemical species for enrichment, separation, as well as a Raman amplifier for the analysis of trace pesticide residues at femtomolar level by a portable Raman spectrometer. Therefore, such multifunctional nanocomposites can be developed as a smart and promising nanosystem that integrates SERS approach with an easy assay for concentration by an external magnet for the effective on-site assessments of agricultural and environmental safety.

Full Text Available Magnetic nanoparticles offer many exciting opportunities in biology and biomedicine, such as magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic hyperthermia therapy, biomedical diagnosis. The synthesis of multifunctional magnetic nanocomposites that possess water-solubility, magnetic properties and optical stability by a green method at room temperature in aqueous phase is still an unmet need. Here, we developed a simple and green method for preparing Fe3O4@Au integrated the super-paramagnetic and optical properties by seed-mediated growth at mild condition in aqueous phase. The amphiphilic, non-ionic and nontoxic polymer poly(vinylpyrrolidone (PVP was used as a coupling agent for synthesis of Fe3O4@Au nanocomposites, which avoided the direct connection of Au and Fe3O4, and improved the saturation magnetization values of Fe3O4@Au to 40 emu/g at room temperature. We anticipate that the multifunctional Fe3O4@Au nanocomposites with high magnetic and good optical properties will provide a platform for potential diagnostic and therapeutic biomedical applications.

Electromigration of thin Au wire is studied by the use of in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques from the viewpoint of nanogap formation. We use a relatively wide Au wire as a starting material because the position-dependent structure change in the wire provides information of the thermal effect caused by the current flow. In-situ TEM observation, in which current measurements of the Au wire are simultaneously performed, reveals the process of the growth of voids and grains. Finally the formation of a nanogap by electromigration is observed doing with current measurements. All the results observed by in-situ TEM indicate the fact that the thermal effects or temperature increase in the wire region take an important role for the structure change caused by electromigration of Au in the wire. It is suggested that the position of the nanogap can roughly be arranged by setting the wire structure and current direction even though a relatively wide wire was used. The detailed observation by in-situ TEM also suggests that the control of heat generation in the wire makes the nanogap sharp because of the well-controlled recrystallization of Au nanowires.

Full Text Available Aiming at model systems with close-to-realistic transport properties, we have prepared and studied planar Au/TiO2 thin-film model catalysts consisting of a thin mesoporous TiO2 film of 200–400 nm thickness with Au nanoparticles, with a mean particle size of ~2 nm diameter, homogeneously distributed therein. The systems were prepared by spin-coating of a mesoporous TiO2 film from solutions of ethanolic titanium tetraisopropoxide and Pluronic P123 on planar Si(100 substrates, calcination at 350 °C and subsequent Au loading by a deposition–precipitation procedure, followed by a final calcination step for catalyst activation. The structural and chemical properties of these model systems were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, N2 adsorption, inductively coupled plasma ionization spectroscopy (ICP–OES and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS. The catalytic properties were evaluated through the oxidation of CO as a test reaction, and reactivities were measured directly above the film with a scanning mass spectrometer. We can demonstrate that the thin-film model catalysts closely resemble dispersed Au/TiO2 supported catalysts in their characteristic structural and catalytic properties, and hence can be considered as suitable for catalytic model studies. The linear increase of the catalytic activity with film thickness indicates that transport limitations inside the Au/TiO2 film catalyst are negligible, i.e., below the detection limit.

Full Text Available A one-step electrochemical method based on sacrificial anode electrolysis (SAE was used to deposit stabilized gold nanoparticles (Au NPs directly on the surface of nanostructured ZnO powders, previously synthesized through a sol–gel process. The effect of thermal annealing temperatures (300 and 550 °C on chemical, morphological, and structural properties of pristine and Au-doped ZnO nancomposites (Au@ZnO was investigated. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM and SEM, as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, revealed the successful deposition of nanoscale gold on the surface of spherical and rod-like ZnO nanostructures, obtained after annealing at 300 and 550 °C, respectively. The pristine ZnO and Au@ZnO nanocomposites are proposed as active layer in chemiresistive gas sensors for low-cost processing. Gas-sensing measurements towards NO2 were collected at 300 °C, evaluating not only the Au-doping effect, but also the influence of the different ZnO nanostructures on the gas-sensing properties.

Integrating plasmonic materials into semiconductor media provides a promising approach for applications such as photo-sensing and solar energy conversion. The resulting structures introduce enhanced light-matter interactions, additional charge trap states, and efficient charge-transfer pathways for light-harvesting devices, especially when an intimate interface is built between the plasmonic nanostructure and semiconductor. Herein, we report the development of plasmonic photodetectors using Au@MoS2 heterostructures - an Au nanoparticle core that is encapsulated by a CVD-grown multilayer MoS2 shell, which perfectly realizes the intimate and direct interfacing of Au and MoS2. We explored their favorable applications in different types of photo-sensing devices. The first involves the development of a large-area interdigitated field-effect phototransistor, which shows a photoresponsivity of ~10 times higher than that of planar MoS2 transistors. The other type of device geometry is a Si-supported Au@MoS2 heterojunction gateless photodiode. We demonstrated its superior photo-response and recovery ability, with a photoresponsivity as high as 22.3 A/W, which is beyond the most distinguished values of previously reported similar gateless photodetectors. The improvement of photo-sensing performance can be a combined result of multiple factors, including enhanced light absorption, creation of more trap states, and, possibly, the formation of interfacial charge-transfer transition, benefiting from the intimate connection of Au and MoS2.

Recent results in d+Au and p+Pb collisions at RHIC and the LHC provide evidence for collective expansion and flow of the created medium. We propose a control set of experiments to directly compare particle emission patterns from p+Au, d+Au, and He3+Au or t+Au collisions at the same sqrt(sNN). Using Monte Carlo Glauber we find that a He3 or triton projectile, with a realistic wavefunction description, induces a significant intrinsic triangular shape to the initial medium and that, even with viscous damping, this survives into a significant third order flow moment v3. By comparing systems with one, two, and three initial hot spots, one can disentangle the effects from the initial spatial distribution of the deposited energy and viscous damping. These are key tools to answering the question of how small a droplet of matter is necessary to form a quark-gluon plasma described by nearly inviscid hydrodynamics.

Full Text Available The growth morphology and structure of ceria nano-islands on a stepped Au(788 surface has been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED. Within the concept of physical vapor deposition, different kinetic routes have been employed to design ceria-Au inverse model catalysts with different ceria nanoparticle shapes and arrangements. A two-dimensional superlattice of ceria nano-islands with a relatively narrow size distribution (5 ± 2 nm2 has been generated on the Au(788 surface by the postoxidation method. This reflects the periodic anisotropy of the template surface and has been ascribed to the pinning of ceria clusters and thus nucleation on the fcc domains of the herringbone reconstruction on the Au terraces. In contrast, the reactive evaporation method yields ceria islands elongated in [01-1] direction, i.e., parallel to the step edges, with high aspect ratios (~6. Diffusion along the Au step edges of ceria clusters and their limited step crossing in conjunction with a growth front perpendicular to the step edges is tentatively proposed to control the ceria growth under reactive evaporation conditions. Both deposition recipes generate two-dimensional islands of CeO2(111-type O–Ce–O single and double trilayer structures for submonolayer coverages.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — According to official estimates, 222,570 people killed, 300,000 injured, 1.3 million displaced, 97,294 houses destroyed and 188,383 damaged in the Port-au-Prince...

We report on a joint experimental and theoretical study of the ordered structures of melamine molecules formed on the Au(111)-(22 x root 3) surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images taken under UHV conditions reveal two distinct monolayers one of which has never been reported before on gol

of convergence between the two organizations and its effect or lack thereof on African security. The article concludes that events leading up to and initiatives following the 2007 Joint Africa–European Union Strategy have produced a degree of AU and EU convergence, which has had limited impact on the efficacy...

Nanocomposite materials of the Au nanoparticles (Au/PDDA-G) and the bimetallic PtAu nanoparticles on poly-(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA)-modified graphene sheets (PtAu/PDDA-G) were prepared with hydrothermal method at 90 °C for 24 h. The composite materials Au/PDDA-G and PtAu/PDDA-G were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for exploring the structural characterization for the electrochemical catalysis. According to TEM results, the diameter of Au and bimetallic PtAu nanoparticles is about 20-50 and 5-10 nm, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicate that both of PtAu and Au nanoparticles exhibit the crystalline plane of (111), (200), (210), and (311). Furthermore, XRD data also show the 2°-3° difference between pristine graphene sheets and the PDDA-modified graphene sheets. For the catalytic activity tests of Au/PDDA-G and PtAu/PDDA-G, the mixture of 0.5 M aqueous H2SO4 and 0.5 M aqueous formic acid was used as model to evaluate the electrochemical characterizations. The catalytic activities of the novel bimetallic PtAu/graphene electrocatalyst would be anticipated to be superior to the previous electrocatalyst of the cubic Pt/graphene.

Nanocomposite materials of the Au nanoparticles (Au/PDDA-G) and the bimetallic PtAu nanoparticles on poly-(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA)-modified graphene sheets (PtAu/PDDA-G) were prepared with hydrothermal method at 90 °C for 24 h. The composite materials Au/PDDA-G and PtAu/PDDA-G were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for exploring the structural characterization for the electrochemical catalysis. According to TEM results, the diameter of Au and bimetallic PtAu nanoparticles is about 20-50 and 5-10 nm, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicate that both of PtAu and Au nanoparticles exhibit the crystalline plane of (111), (200), (210), and (311). Furthermore, XRD data also show the 2°-3° difference between pristine graphene sheets and the PDDA-modified graphene sheets. For the catalytic activity tests of Au/PDDA-G and PtAu/PDDA-G, the mixture of 0.5 M aqueous H2SO4 and 0.5 M aqueous formic acid was used as model to evaluate the electrochemical characterizations. The catalytic activities of the novel bimetallic PtAu/graphene electrocatalyst would be anticipated to be superior to the previous electrocatalyst of the cubic Pt/graphene.

We present a facile route to fabricate novel nanoporous bimetallic Pt-Au alloy nanocomposites by dealloying a rapidly solidified Al(75)Pt(15)Au(10) precursor under free corrosion conditions. The microstructure of the precursor and the as-dealloyed sample was characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The Al(75)Pt(15)Au(10) precursor is composed of a single-phase Al(2)(Au,Pt) intermetallic compound, and can be fully dealloyed in a 20 wt.% NaOH or 5 wt.% HCl aqueous solution. The dealloying leads to the formation of the nanoporous Pt(60)Au(40) nanocomposites (np-Pt(60)Au(40) NCs) with an fcc structure. The morphology, size and crystal orientation of grains in the precursor can be conserved in the resultant nanoporous alloy. The np-Pt(60)Au(40) NCs consist of two zones with distinct ligament/channel sizes and compositions. The formation mechanism of these np-Pt(60)Au(40) NCs can be rationalized based upon surface diffusion of more noble elements and spinodal decomposition during dealloying. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the np-Pt(60)Au(40) NCs show superior catalytic activity towards the electro-oxidation of methanol and formic acid in the acid media compared to the commercial JM-Pt/C catalyst. This material can find potential applications in catalysis related areas, such as direct methanol or formic acid fuel cells. Our findings demonstrate that dealloying is an effective and simple strategy to realize the alloying of immiscible systems under mild conditions, and to fabricate novel nanostructures with superior performance.

The Ni/Au contact was treated with oxalic acid after annealing in O2 ambient, and its I-V characteristic showed the property of contact has been obviously improved. An Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth pro-file of the contact as-annealed showed that the top layer was highly resistive NiO, while an X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) of oxalic acid treated samples indicated that the NiO has been removed effectively. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the surface morphology of the contacts, and it was found that the lacunaris surface right after annealing became quite smooth with lots of small Au exposed areas after oxalic acid treatment. When the test probe or the subsequently deposited Ti/Au was directly in contact with these small Au areas, they worked as low resistive current paths and thus decrease the specific contact resistance.

Au/ZnO nanocomposites have been prepared by a simple chemical method. For the first time, the nanocomposites were directly used as photocatalysts for hydroxylation of aromatic hydrocarbons under UV and visible light irradiation. The results show that the as-prepared photocatalysts display high photocatalytic activity for UV and visible catalytic hydroxylation of benzene. Without the assistance of any solvent or additive, high selectivity and high conversion efficiency were still obtained. Different photocatalytic mechanisms were proposed depending on whether excitation happens on ZnO semiconductor or on the surface plasmon band of Au. The former is Au nanoparticles act as electron buffer due to irradiation by UV light and ZnO nanoparticles as reactive sites for hydroxylation of benzene, the latter is that Au nanoparticles act as light harvesters and inject electrons into ZnO conduction band and as photocatalytic sites under visible light irradiation.

We study the charge-dependent azimuthal correlations in relativistic heavy ion collisions, as motivated by the search for the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) and the investigation of related background contributions. In particular we aim to understand how these correlations induced by various proposed effects evolve from collisions with AuAu system to that with UU system. To do that, we quantify the generation of magnetic field in UU collisions at RHIC energy and its azimuthal correlation with the matter geometry using event-by-event simulations. Taking the experimental data for charge-dependent azimuthal correlations from AuAu collisions and extrapolating to UU with reasonable assumptions, we examine the resulting correlations to be expected in UU collisions and compare them with recent STAR measurements. Based on such analysis we discuss the viability for explaining the data with a combination of the CME-like and flow-induced contributions.

The structure of evaporated CuAu I films in (111) orientation was studied by electron transmission and diffraction microscopy. The single-crystal films of Cu-Au alloy were prepared by vacuum evaporation and CuAu I ordered alloy was obtained by heating the disordered f.c.c. alloy to a temperature of 350deg C for 1 h. The electron micrograph revealed the presence of an intricate pattern of antiphase domain boundaries and the presence of twin lamellae. No microtwinning was observed. The CuAu I films exhibit a complex diffraction pattern. The geometry of the expected (111) reciprocal lattice plane has been calculated and described in detail. Extra reflections were identified as {l brace}101{r brace} twin spots and double-diffraction spots which originated from the twins. (orig.).

In this paper, we fabricate Au/ZnO nanostructure with smaller ZnO nanoparticles loaded onto bigger gold nanoparticles via combining seed-mediated method and sol-gel method. The obtained Au/ZnO nanocomposites exhibit excellent properties in photocatalysis process like methyl orange (MO) degradation and oxidative conversion of methanol into formaldehyde under visible light irradiation. The enhanced properties were ascribed to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Au nanoparticles, which could contribute to the separation of photo-excited electrons and holes and facilitate the process of absorbing visible light. This paper contributes to the emergence of multi-functional nanocomposites with possible applications in visible-light driven photocatalysts and makes the Au/ZnO photocatalyst an exceptional choice for practical applications such as environmental purification of organic pollutants in aqueous solution and the synthesis of fine chemicals and intermediates.

We have employed ab initio molecular dynamics to investigate the stability of the smallest gold cages, namely Au16 and Au17, at finite temperatures. First, we obtain the ground state structure along with at least 50 distinct isomers for both the clusters. This is followed by the finite temperature simulations of these clusters. Each cluster is maintained at 12 different temperatures for a time period of at least 150 ps. Thus, the total simulation time is of the order of 2.4 ns for each cluster. We observe that the cages are stable at least up to 850 K. Although both clusters melt around the same temperature, i.e. around 900 K, Au17 shows a peak in the heat capacity curve in contrast to the broad peak seen for Au16.

In this work, we present a study concerning some collective phenomena in highly central Au (150 - 400 A MeV) + Au collisions, measured with the FOPI detector. The selection of the central reactions is performed by applying a criterion whose definition is based on the concept that low impact parameter reactions imply the non-existence of projectile and target remnants. The analysis of the center-of-mass polar angular distributions indicates that fragments (Z {<=} 3) are emitted preferentially in the direction transverse to the be beam axis. The shape of these distributions depends strongly on the degree of stopping of the nuclear matter. In the Quantum Molecular Dynamics (QMD) calculations, this phenomenon is mainly parameterized with the nucleon-nucleon cross-section ({sigma}{sub nn}). The comparison of the experimental polar angle distributions with those predicted by QMD suggests a value of 30 mb for {sigma}{sub nn} to reproduce the experimental trend observed at 150 A MeV incident energy. A simulation of a thermal source whose expansion is partially governed by a transverse flow indicates that the collective energy represents about 75 % of the total transverse energy ({approx} 65 % at 250 and 400 A MeV). (author). 102 refs.

(abridged) Debris disks around main sequence stars are produced by the erosion and evaporation of unseen parent bodies. AU Microscopii (GJ 803) is a compelling object to study in the context of disk evolution across different spectral types, as it is an M dwarf whose near edge-on disk may be directly compared to that of its A5V sibling beta Pic. We resolve the disk from 8-60 AU in the near-IR JHK' bands at high resolution with the Keck II telescope and adaptive optics, and develop a novel data reduction technique for the removal of the stellar point spread function. The point source detection sensitivity in the disk midplane is more than a magnitude less sensitive than regions away from the disk for some radii. We measure a blue color across the near-IR bands, and confirm the presence of substructure in the inner disk. Some of the structural features exhibit wavelength-dependent positions. The disk architecture and characteristics of grain composition are inferred through modeling. We approach the modeling of...

Direct imaging observations constrain the fraction of stars orbited by gas giant planets with separations greater than 10 au to about 0.01 only. This is widely believed to indicate that massive protoplanetary discs rarely fragment on planetary mass objects. I use numerical simulations of gas clumps embedded in massive gas discs to show that these observations are consistent with $\\sim 0.2 - 10$ planetary mass clumps per star being born in young gravitationally unstable discs. A trio of processes -- rapid clump migration, tidal disruption and runaway gas accretion -- destroys or transforms all of the simulated clumps into other objects, resulting in a desert of gas giants beyond separation of approximately 10 au. The cooling rate of the disc controls which of the three processes is dominant. For cooling rates faster than a few local dynamical times, clumps always grow rapidly and become massive brown dwarfs or low mass stars. For longer cooling times, post-collapse (high density) planets migrate inward to $\\si...

The signals theoretically predicted for the occurrence of a critical behavior (conditional moments of charge distributions, Campi scatter plot, fluctuations of the size of the largest fragment, power law in the charge distribution, intermittency) have been found for peripheral events in the reaction Au+Au at 35 MeV/u. The same signals have been studied with a dynamical model which foresees phase transition, like the Classical Molecular Dynamics.

The mass number distributions of three fragments from the ternary fission of the system 197Au+197Au are reproduced rather well by using the improved quantum molecular dynamics (ImQMD) model without any adjusting parameter. It is found that the probability of ternary fission evidently depends on the incident energy and the impact parameter, and the two-body dissipation is the main mechanism responsible for the formation of the third fragment with comparable mass.

Using the Glauber model, we present the formulas for calculating the numbers of participants,spectators and binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. Based on this work, we get the pseudorapidity distributions of charged particles as the function of the impact parameter in nucleus-nucleus collisions. The theoretical results agree well with the experimental observations made by the BRAHMS Collaboration in Au+Au collisions at √SNN=200 GeV in different centrality bins over the whole pseudorapidity range.

@@ We predict that xcJ mesons at low transverse momentum in the central rapidity region are almost dissociated by nucleons and antinucleons in hadronic matter produced in central Au+Au collisions at relativistic high-ion collider (RHIC) energies √SNN = 130 and 200 GeV. In the calculations the nucleon and antinucleon distributions in hadronic matter are results of evolution from their freeze-out distributions which well fit the experimental transverse momentum spectra of proton and antiproton.

We calculate the net baryon rapidity distribution in Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in the framework of the Parton Cascade Model (PCM). Parton rescattering and fragmentation leads to a substantial increase in the net baryon density at mid-rapidity over the density produced by initial primary parton-parton scatterings. The PCM is able to describe the measured net baryon density at RHIC.

A comparative assessment of the 48-h acute toxicity of aqueous nanoparticles synthesized using the same methodology, including Au, Ag, and Ag-Au bimetallic nanoparticles, was conducted to determine their ecological effect in freshwater environments through the use of Daphnia magna, using their mortality as a toxicological endpoint. D. magna are one of the standard organisms used for ecotoxicity studies due to their sensitivity to chemical toxicants. Particle suspensions used in toxicity testing were well-characterized through a combination of absorbance measurements, atomic force or electron microscopy, flame atomic absorption spectrometry, and dynamic light scattering to determine composition, aggregation state, and particle size. The toxicity of all nanoparticles tested was found to be dose and composition dependent. The concentration of Au nanoparticles that killed 50% of the test organisms (LC(50)) ranged from 65-75 mg/L. In addition, three different sized Ag nanoparticles (diameters = 36, 52, and 66 nm) were studied to analyze the toxicological effects of particle size on D. magna; however, it was found that toxicity was not a function of size and ranged from 3-4 μg/L for all three sets of Ag nanoparticles tested. This was possibly due to the large degree of aggregation when these nanoparticles were suspended in standard synthetic freshwater. Moreover, the LC(50) values for Ag-Au bimetallic nanoparticles were found to be between that of Ag and Au but much closer to that of Ag. The bimetallic particles containing 80% Ag and 20% Au were found to have a significantly lower toxicity to Daphnia (LC(50) of 15 μg/L) compared to Ag nanoparticles, while the toxicity of the nanoparticles containing 20% Ag and 80% Au was greater than expected at 12 μg/L. The comparison results confirm that Ag nanoparticles were much more toxic than Au nanoparticles, and that the introduction of gold into silver nanoparticles may lower their environmental impact by lowering the amount

We have measured the sideward flow of neutral strange ($K^0_s$) mesons in 6 AGeV Au + Au collisions. A prominent anti-flow signal is observed for an impact parameter range (b $\\lesssim 7$ fm) which spans central and mid-central events. Since the $K^0_s$ scattering cross section is relatively small in nuclear matter, this observation suggests that the in-medium kaon vector potential plays an important role in high density nuclear matter.

The paper AU :3 explores the stages of development of an outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) institutional ﬁeld during periods of major system change in big emerging economies. The state and its agencies appear to be the principal institutional entrepreneurs in developing the OFDI organizati......The paper AU :3 explores the stages of development of an outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) institutional ﬁeld during periods of major system change in big emerging economies. The state and its agencies appear to be the principal institutional entrepreneurs in developing the OFDI...

The paper AU :3 explores the stages of development of an outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) institutional ﬁeld during periods of major system change in big emerging economies. The state and its agencies appear to be the principal institutional entrepreneurs in developing the OFDI organizati......The paper AU :3 explores the stages of development of an outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) institutional ﬁeld during periods of major system change in big emerging economies. The state and its agencies appear to be the principal institutional entrepreneurs in developing the OFDI...

The understanding of the interaction between Au and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is very important since Au/CNTs composites have wide applications in many fields. In this study, we investigated the dispersion of Au nanoparticles on the CNTs by transmission electron microscopy and the bonding mechanism...... of states, charge transfer and frontier molecular orbitals. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved....

We report measurements of Upsilon meson production in p+p, d+Au, and Au+Au collisions using the STAR detector at RHIC. We compare the Upsilon yield to the measured cross section in p+p collisions in order to quantify any modifications of the yield in cold nuclear matter using d+Au data and in hot nuclear matter using Au+Au data separated into three centrality classes. Our p+p measurement is based on three times the statistics of our previous result. We obtain a nuclear modification factor for Upsilon(1S+2S+3S) in the rapidity range |y|<1 in d+Au collisions of R_dAu = 0.67 +/- 0.12 (stat.) +/- 0.04 (sys.) +/- 0.08 (pp sys.). A comparison with models including shadowing and initial state parton energy loss indicates the presence of additional cold-nuclear matter suppression. Similarly, in the top 10% most-central Au+Au collisions, we measure a nuclear modification factor of R_AA=0.36 +/- 0.09 (stat.) +/- 0.01 (sys.) +/- 0.04 (pp sys.), which is a larger suppression factor than that seen in cold nuclear matte...

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has performed systematic measurements of phi meson production in the K+K- decay channel at midrapidity in p+p, d+Au, Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(S_NN)=200 GeV. Results are presented on the phi invariant yield and the nuclear modification factor R_AA for Au+Au and Cu+Cu, and R_dA for d+Au collisions, studied as a function of transverse momentum (1Au+Au collisions, the R_AA of phi exhibits a suppression relative to expectations from binary scaled p+p results. The amount of suppression is smaller than that of the neutral pion and the eta meson in the intermediate p_T range (2--5 GeV/c); whereas at higher p_T the phi, pi^0, and eta show similar suppression. The baryon (protons and anti-protons) excess observed in central Au+Au collisions at intermediate p_T is not observed for the phi meson despite the similar mass of the proton and the phi. This suggests that the excess is lin...

...(s) for the propane oxidation. Oxidation state, size, and dispersion of Au nanoparticles in the Au-catalysts, surface area, crystallinity, phase structure, and redox property of the support are the key aspects for the complete propane oxidation...

The heterofunctional and rigid ligand N,N'-diphosphanyl-imidazol-2-ylidene (PCNHCP; P = P(t-Bu)2), through its phosphorus and two N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) donors, stabilizes trinuclear chain complexes, with either Au3 or AgAu2 cores, and dinuclear Au2 complexes. The two oppositely situated PCNHCP (L) ligands that "sandwich" the metal chain can support linear and rigid structures, as found in the known tricationic Au(I) complex [Au3(μ3-PCNHCP,κP,κCNHC,κP)2](OTf)3 (OTf = CF3SO3; [Au3L2](OTf)3; Chem. Commun. 2014, 50, 103-105) now also obtained by transmetalation from [Ag3(μ3-PCNHCP,κP,κCNHC,κP)2](OTf)3 ([Ag3L2](OTf)3), or in the mixed-metal tricationic [Au2Ag(μ3-PCNHCP,κP,κCNHC,κP)2](OTf)3 ([Au2AgL2](OTf)3). The latter was obtained stepwise by the addition of AgOTf to the digold(I) complex [Au2(μ2-PCNHCP,κP,κCNHC)2](OTf)2 ([Au2L2](OTf)2). The latter contains two dangling P donors and displays fluxional behavior in solution, and the Au···Au separation of 2.8320(6) Å in the solid state is consistent with metallophilic interactions. In the solvento complex [Au3Cl2(tht)(μ3-PCNHCP,κP,κCNHC,κP)](OTf)·MeCN ([Au3Cl2(tht)L](OTf)·MeCN), which contains only one L and one tht ligand (tht = tetrahydrothiophene), the metal chain is bent (148.94(2)°), and the longer Au···Au separation (2.9710(4) Å) is in line with relaxation of the rigidity due to a more "open" structure. Similar features were observed in [Au3Cl2(SMe2)L](OTf)·2MeCN. A detailed study of the emission properties of [Au3L2](OTf)3, [Au3Cl2(tht)L](OTf)·MeCN, [Au2L2](OTf)2, and [Au2AgL2](OTf)3 was performed by means of steady state and time-resolved photophysical techniques. The complex [Au3L2](OTf)3 displays a bright (photoluminescence quantum yield = 80%) and narrow emission band centered at 446 nm with a relatively small Stokes' shift and long-lived excited-state lifetime on the microsecond timescale, both in solution and in the solid state. In line with the very narrow emission

Transverse mass and rapidity distributions for charged pions, charged kaons, protons and antiprotons are reported for sqrt{s_NN}=200 GeV pp and Au+Au collisions at RHIC. The transverse mass distributions are rapidity independent within |y|<0.5, consistent with a boost-invariant system in this rapidity interval. Spectral shapes and relative particle yields are similar in pp and peripheral Au+Au collisions and change smoothly to central Au+Au collisions. No centrality dependence was observed in the kaon and antiproton production rates relative to the pion production rate from medium-central to central collisions. Chemical and kinetic equilibrium model fits to our data reveal strong radial flow and relatively long duration from chemical to kinetic freeze-out in central Au+Au collisions. The chemical freeze-out temperature appears to be independent of initial conditions at RHIC energies.

were able to obtain BEEM-spectra and BEEM-images of Au/Pr{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Si(111) structures using a submonolayer thick Pr{sub 2}O{sub 3}-film at the Au/Si interface. In the BEEM images the interface is directly visualized. The structure of the submonolayer Pr{sub 2}O{sub 3} film, i.e. the size and form of the islands, can be studied. From the measured BEEM spectra, we determined the conduction band offset between silicon and praseodymium oxide. (orig.)

The Au nanoparticles has been prepared by microwave high-pressure procedure with alcohol as the reducing agent. The color of colloidal Au nanoparticles is blue-violet. The maximum absorption spectrum of colloidal Au is at 580 nm, and the resonance scattering peak is at 580 nm. Using this method, the colloidal Au of long-time stability can be prepared simply and quickly.

We present results from a harmonic decomposition of two-particle azimuthal correlations measured with the STAR detector in Au+Au collisions for energies ranging from sqrt[s_{NN}]=7.7 to 200 GeV. The third harmonic v_{3}^{2}{2}=⟨cos3(ϕ_{1}-ϕ_{2})⟩, where ϕ_{1}-ϕ_{2} is the angular difference in azimuth, is studied as a function of the pseudorapidity difference between particle pairs Δη=η_{1}-η_{2}. Nonzero v_{3}^{2}{2} is directly related to the previously observed large-Δη narrow-Δϕ ridge correlations and has been shown in models to be sensitive to the existence of a low viscosity quark gluon plasma phase. For sufficiently central collisions, v_{3}^{2}{2} persist down to an energy of 7.7 GeV, suggesting that quark gluon plasma may be created even in these low energy collisions. In peripheral collisions at these low energies, however, v_{3}^{2}{2} is consistent with zero. When scaled by the pseudorapidity density of charged-particle multiplicity per participating nucleon pair, v_{3}^{2}{2} for central collisions shows a minimum near sqrt[s_{NN}]=20 GeV.

We present results from a harmonic decomposition of two-particle azimuthal correlations measured with the STAR detector in Au+Au collisions for energies ranging from $\\sqrt{s_{NN}}=7.7$ GeV to 200 GeV. The third harmonic $v_3^2\\{2\\}=\\langle \\cos3(\\phi_1-\\phi_2)\\rangle$, where $\\phi_1-\\phi_2$ is the angular difference in azimuth, is studied as a function of the pseudorapidity difference between particle pairs $\\Delta\\eta = \\eta_1-\\eta_2$. Non-zero {\\vthree} is directly related to the previously observed large-$\\Delta\\eta$ narrow-$\\Delta\\phi$ ridge correlations and has been shown in models to be sensitive to the existence of a low viscosity Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) phase. For sufficiently central collisions, $v_3^2\\{2\\}$ persist down to an energy of 7.7 GeV suggesting that QGP may be created even in these low energy collisions. In peripheral collisions at these low energies however, $v_3^2\\{2\\}$ is consistent with zero. When scaled by pseudorapidity density of charged particle multiplicity per participating nuc...

The Autonomous Frequency Domain Identification program, AU-FREDI, is a system of methods, algorithms and software that was developed for the identification of structural dynamic parameters and system transfer function characterization for control of large space platforms and flexible spacecraft. It was validated in the CALTECH/Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Large Spacecraft Control Laboratory. Due to the unique characteristics of this laboratory environment, and the environment-specific nature of many of the software's routines, AU-FREDI should be considered to be a collection of routines which can be modified and reassembled to suit system identification and control experiments on large flexible structures. The AU-FREDI software was originally designed to command plant excitation and handle subsequent input/output data transfer, and to conduct system identification based on the I/O data. Key features of the AU-FREDI methodology are as follows: 1. AU-FREDI has on-line digital filter design to support on-orbit optimal input design and data composition. 2. Data composition of experimental data in overlapping frequency bands overcomes finite actuator power constraints. 3. Recursive least squares sine-dwell estimation accurately handles digitized sinusoids and low frequency modes. 4. The system also includes automated estimation of model order using a product moment matrix. 5. A sample-data transfer function parametrization supports digital control design. 6. Minimum variance estimation is assured with a curve fitting algorithm with iterative reweighting. 7. Robust root solvers accurately factorize high order polynomials to determine frequency and damping estimates. 8. Output error characterization of model additive uncertainty supports robustness analysis. The research objectives associated with AU-FREDI were particularly useful in focusing the identification methodology for realistic on-orbit testing conditions. Rather than estimating the entire structure, as is

The spectral anisotropy of turbulent structures has been measured in the solar wind since 1990, relying on the assumption of axisymmetry about the mean magnetic field, B 0. However, several works indicate that this hypothesis might be partially wrong, thus raising two questions: (i) is it correct to interpret measurements at 1 au (the so-called Maltese cross) in term of a sum of slab and two-dimensional (2D) turbulence; and (ii) what information is really contained in the Maltese cross? We solve direct numerical simulations of the magnetohydrodynamic equations including the transverse stretching exerted by the solar wind flow and study the genuine 3D anisotropy of turbulence as well as that one resulting from the assumption of axisymmetry about B 0. We show that the evolution of the turbulent spectrum from 0.2 to 1 au depends strongly on its initial anisotropy. An axisymmetric spectrum with respect to B 0 keeps its axisymmetry, i.e., resists stretching perpendicular to radial, while an isotropic spectrum becomes essentially axisymmetric with respect to the radial direction. We conclude that close to the Sun, slow-wind turbulence has a spectrum that is axisymmetric around B 0 and the measured 2D component at 1 au describes the real shape of turbulent structures. In contrast, fast-wind turbulence has a more isotropic spectrum at the source and becomes radially symmetric at 1 au. Such structure is hidden by the symmetrization applied to the data that instead returns a slab geometry.

Pd-Au bimetallic catalysts often display enhanced catalytic activities and selectivities compared with Pd-alone catalysts. This enhancement is often caused by two alloy effects, i.e., ensemble and ligand effects. The ensemble effect is dilution of surface Pd by Au. With increasing surface Au coverages, contiguous Pd ensembles disappear and isolated Pd ensembles form. For certain reactions, for example vinyl acetate synthesis, this effect is responsible for reaction rate enhancement via the formation of highly active surface sites, e.g., isolated Pd pairs. The disappearance of contiguous Pd ensembles also switches off side reactions catalyzed by these sites. This explains selectivity increase of certain reactions, for example direct H2O2 synthesis. The ligand effect is electronic perturbation of Au to Pd. By direct charge transfer or affecting bond length, the ligand effect causes the Pd d band to be more filled and the d-band center away from the Fermi level. Both changes make Pd more "atomic like" therefore binding reactants and products weaker. For certain reactions, this eliminates the so-called "self poisoning" and enhances activity/selectivity.

The interaction of Cu(111), Au(111) and Cu-covered Au(111) electrodes with a neutral phosphate buffer solution has been studied by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and in situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM). Under low potential conditions, both the Cu(111) and the Au(111...

Seed-mediated growth of gold (Au) nanorods with highly controllable length, width, and aspect ratio was accomplished via carefully size-controlled synthesis of the original Au seeds. A slow dynamic growth of Au nanoparticle seeds was observed after reduction of the Au salt (i.e., hydrogen tetrachloroaurate (III) hydrate) by sodium borohydride (NaBH{sub 4}) in the presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). As such, the size of the Au nanoparticle seeds can therefore be manipulated through control over the duration of the reaction period (i.e., aging times of 2, 8, 48, 72, and 144 h were used in this study). These differently sized Au nanoparticles were subsequently used as seeds for the growth of Au nanorods, where the additions of Au salt, CTAB, AgNO{sub 3}, and ascorbic acid were employed. Smaller Au nanoparticle seeds obtained via short growth/aging time resulted in Au nanorods with higher aspect ratio and thus longer longitudinal surface plasmon wavelength (LSPW). The larger Au nanoparticle seeds obtained via longer growth/aging time resulted in Au nanorods with lower aspect ratio and shorter LSPW.

(form, size and inter-particle distance). The obtained Au nanoparticles are nearly spherical. The surface plasmon (PS) absorption band corresponding to the distant particles is located at 520 nm. After ion irradiation, the spherical nanoparticles transform into ellipsoids aligned along the ion beam. The absorption band splits into two bands: transversal and longitudinal. The band corresponding to the ellipsoids small axis (transversal) is blue-shifted and that corresponding to the long axis (longitudinal) is red-shifted indicating the elongation of particles in the beam direction. The second paper is consecrated to the crucial role of the plastic deformation of the matrix and to the importance of the metal atomic mobility in the anisotropic nanoparticles deformation in Au/SiO 2 nanocomposites. Our measurements show that a threshold value of 2 keV/nm (electronic stopping power) is necessary for the deformation of Au nanoparticles. This value is close to that required for silica deformation. Mobility of the Au atoms at the time of the ion passage is confirmed by temperature calculation within the ionic track. The third paper treats the attempt of formation and deformation of Au nanoparticles in crystalline aluminum arsenide matrix known by its high resistance to amorphisation and deformation under ionic bombardment. The principal result of the last article confirms the essential role of the matrix. It proves that the anisotropic deformation of surrounding material is indispensable for gold nanoparticles deformation. The experimental results mentioned above and temperature calculations within ionic tracks allowed us to propose the following anisotropic deformation scenario of Au nanoparticles embedded in Au/SiO2 nanocomposite: (1) Each ion crossing the silica melts (very briefly) a narrow cylinder around its trajectory forming thus a latent track. This is consistent with the observed threshold value in the electronic stopping power. (2) The cumulative effect of many

The STAR collaboration presents new two-dimensional di-hadron correlations with leading hadrons in 200 GeV central Au+Au and minimum bias d+Au collisions to explore hadronization mechanisms in the quark gluon plasma. The enhancement of the jet-like yield for leading pions in Au+Au data with respect to the d+Au reference and the absence of enhancement for leading non-pions (protons and kaons) are discussed within the context of quark recombination. The correlated yield at large angles, specifically in the \\emph{ridge region}, is significantly higher for leading non-pions than pions. The consistencies of the constituent quark scaling, azimuthal harmonic model and a mini-jet modification model description of the data are tested, providing further constraints on hadronization.

The STAR Collaboration presents for the first time two-dimensional di-hadron correlations with identified leading hadrons in 200 GeV central Au + Au and minimum-bias d + Au collisions to explore hadronization mechanisms in the quark gluon plasma. The enhancement of the jet-like yield for leading pions in Au + Au data with respect to the d + Au reference and the absence of such an enhancement for leading non-pions (protons and kaons) are discussed within the context of a quark recombination scenario. The correlated yield at large angles, specifically in the ridge region, is found to be significantly higher for leading non-pions than pions. The consistencies of the constituent quark scaling, azimuthal harmonic model and a mini-jet modification model description of the data are tested, providing further constraints on hadronization.

The STAR Collaboration presents for the first time two-dimensional di-hadron correlations with identified leading hadrons in 200 GeV central Au + Au and minimum-bias d + Au collisions to explore hadronization mechanisms in the quark gluon plasma. The enhancement of the jet-like yield for leading pions in Au + Au data with respect to the d + Au reference and the absence of such an enhancement for leading non-pions (protons and kaons) are discussed within the context of a quark recombination scenario. The correlated yield at large angles, specifically in the ridge region, is found to be significantly higher for leading non-pions than pions. The consistencies of the constituent quark scaling, azimuthal harmonic model and a mini-jet modification model description of the data are tested, providing further constraints on hadronization.

The STAR Collaboration presents for the first time two-dimensional di-hadron correlations with identified leading hadrons in 200 GeV central Au + Au and minimum-bias d + Au collisions to explore hadronization mechanisms in the quark gluon plasma. The enhancement of the jet-like yield for leading pions in Au + Au data with respect to the d + Au reference and the absence of such an enhancement for leading non-pions (protons and kaons) are discussed within the context of a quark recombination scenario. The correlated yield at large angles, specifically in the ridge region, is found to be significantly higher for leading non-pions than pions. The consistencies of the constituent quark scaling, azimuthal harmonic model and a mini-jet modification model description of the data are tested, providing further constraints on hadronization.

Full Text Available The STAR Collaboration presents for the first time two-dimensional di-hadron correlations with identified leading hadrons in 200 GeV central Au+Au and minimum-bias d+Au collisions to explore hadronization mechanisms in the quark gluon plasma. The enhancement of the jet-like yield for leading pions in Au+Au data with respect to the d+Au reference and the absence of such an enhancement for leading non-pions (protons and kaons are discussed within the context of a quark recombination scenario. The correlated yield at large angles, specifically in the ridge region, is found to be significantly higher for leading non-pions than pions. The consistencies of the constituent quark scaling, azimuthal harmonic model and a mini-jet modification model description of the data are tested, providing further constraints on hadronization.

We report the assembly of magic number (C60)m-(Au)n complexes on the Au(111) surface. These complexes have a unique structure consisting of a single atomic layer Au island wrapped by a self-selected number (seven, ten, or twelve) of C60 molecules. The smallest structure consisting of 7 C60 molecules and 19 Au atoms, stable up to 400 K, has a preferred orientation on the surface. We propose a globalized metal-organic coordination mechanism for the stability of the (C60)m-(Au)n complexes.

Full Text Available The expected potential benefits promised by nanotechnology in various fields have led to a rapid increase of the presence of engineered nanomaterials in a high number of commercial goods. This is generating increasing questions about possible risks for human health and environment, due to the lack of an in-depth assessment of the physical/chemical factors responsible for their toxic effects. In this work, we evaluated the toxicity of monodisperse citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs of different sizes (5, 15, 40, and 80 nm in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, upon ingestion. To properly evaluate and distinguish the possible dose- and/or size-dependent toxicity of the AuNPs, we performed a thorough assessment of their biological effects, using two different dose-metrics. In the first approach, we kept constant the total surface area of the differently sized AuNPs (Total Exposed Surface area approach, TES, while, in the second approach, we used the same number concentration of the four different sizes of AuNPs (Total Number of Nanoparticles approach, TNN. We observed a significant AuNPs-induced toxicity in vivo, namely a strong reduction of Drosophila lifespan and fertility performance, presence of DNA fragmentation, as well as a significant modification in the expression levels of genes involved in stress responses, DNA damage recognition and apoptosis pathway. Interestingly, we found that, within the investigated experimental conditions, the toxic effects in the exposed organisms were directly related to the concentration of the AuNPs administered, irrespective of their size.

This work suggests a novel strategy to coat the caps and body of Au-nanorods (Au-NRs) with end-grafted polymer layers of different compositions by taking advantage of the different curvature of these two regions. A molecular theory was used to theoretically investigate the effect of local curvature and molecular architecture (intramolecular connectivity of the monomers) on the adsorption of polymer mixtures on cylindrical (Au-NR body) and spherical (Au-NR caps) surfaces. The adsorption process was systematically studied as a function of the backbone length, number and position of branches, quality of the solvent and total number of monomers of the polymer molecules in the mixture. The balance between repulsive forces and polymer-surface and polymer-polymer attractions governs the amount and composition of the adsorbed layer. This balance is in turn modulated by the architecture of the polymers, the curvature of the surface and the competition between the different polymers in the mixture for the available area. As a result, the equilibrium composition of the polymer layer on spheres and cylinders of the same radius differs, and in turn departs from that of the bulk solution. Curvature plays a major role: the available volume at a given distance from the surface is larger for spherical surfaces than for cylindrical ones, therefore the surface density of the bulkier (more branched) polymer in the mixture is larger on the Au-NR caps than on the Au-NR body. These results suggest that the combination of curvature at the nanoscale and tailored molecular architecture can confer anisotropic nanoparticles with spatially enriched domains and, therefore, lead to nanoconstructs with directional chemical interactions.

Coronal mass ejections are believed to be produced in the corona from closed magnetic regions not previously participating in the solar wind expansion. At 1 AU their interplanetary counterparts (ICMEs) generally have a number of distinct plasma and field signatures that distinguish them from the ambient solar wind. These include heat flux dropouts, bi-directional streaming, enhanced alpha particle events, times of depressed proton temperatures, intervals of distorted or enhanced magnetic field, and times of large magnetic field rotations characteristic of magnetic clouds. The first three of these signatures are phenomena that occur at some point within the ICME, but do not necessarily persist throughout the entire ICME. The large scale magnetic field rotations, distortions and enhancements, and the proton temperature depressions tend to mark more accurately the beginning and end of the ICME proper. We examine herein the reliability with which each of these markers identifies ICMEs utilizing ISEE-3 data from 1978-1980.

A study of adsorbate-adsorbate and surface state mediated interactions of anthraquinone (AnQ) on Au(111) is presented. We utilize scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to characterize the coverage dependence of AnQ structure formation. Ordered structures are observed up to a single monolayer (ML) and are found to be strongly dependent on molecular surface density. While the complete ML forms a well-ordered close-packed layer, for a narrow range of sub-ML coverages irregular close-packed islands are observed to coexist with a disordered pore network linking neighboring islands. This network displays a characteristic pore size and at lower coverages, the soliton walls of the herringbone reconstruction are shown to promote formation of distinct pore nanostructures. We will discuss these nanostructure formations in the context of surface mediated and more direct adsorbate interactions.

Effective photoswitchable europium sulfide nanocrystals with gold nanoparticles using dithiol (DDT: 1,10-decanedithiol) joint molecules, EuS-Au nanosystems, are demonstrated. The TEM image indicates the formation of EuS-Au nanosystems composed of cube-shaped EuS nanocrystals and spherical Au nanoparticles. Under visible-light irradiation, a drastic change of absorption band of EuS-Au nanosystems at around 600 nm was observed. The Faraday effects of EuS-Au nanosystems were estimated using magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) measurements. The effective change of the MCD spectra of EuS-Au nanosystems under visible-light irradiation was successfully observed at around 670 nm for the first time. The effective reversible changes in MCD spectra with the alternative irradiation cycles of visible light (>440 nm) and dark are also presented. The decrease rate of rotation angle at 670 nm of EuS-Au nanosystems is larger than that of absorbance. These results indicate that the effective change of MCD spectra of EuS-Au nanosystems would be dominated not only by a drastic change of absorption band related to enhanced LSPR of Au nanoparticles but also by specific interaction between EuS and Au in nanosystem under irradiation. Illustration of photoswitch and TEM image of EuS-Au nanosystems. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The bimetallic Au-Cu alloy nanoparticles have been constructed in electrospun carbon nanofibers (Au-Cu/CNFs), employing as high efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrode. The morphology, structure, and composition of bimetallic Au-Cu alloy can be controlled by adjusting the precursor nanofibers through a facile approach. With the increased Cu content, the Au-Cu alloy have a transition from the homogeneous AuCu3 alloy phase to the Au3Cu phase with Cu shell. The self-supported bimetallic Au-Cu/CNFs hybrid can be directly employed as electrode materials for water splitting, and it showed excellent electrochemical activity, including long-term stability, high exchange current density, and low overpotential. The outstanding HER performance could be mainly attributed to the synergistic interactions and interfacial effects of Au-Cu alloy with high densities of uncoordinated surface atoms. In addition, the fast charge transport and the fast kinetic for the desorption of the gas were originated from the self-supported three-dimensional architectures consist of integrated Au-Cu/CNFs networks. The Au-Cu/CNFs with mass ratio of 1:2 (Au3Cu-Cu "core-shell" alloy) obtain the lowest overpotential of 83 mV (at j = 10 mA cm(-2)), lowest Tafel slope of 70 mV dec(-1), and highest exchange current density of 0.790 mA cm(-2). The present investigations offer a new strategy for the design and synthesis of unique nanocrystals in energy conversion related application.

Polyethylene (PE) surface was treated with Ar plasma. Activated surface was grafted from methanol solution of 1,2-ethanedithiol. Then the sample was immersed into freshly prepared colloid solution of Au-nanoparticles. Finally Au layer was sputtered on the samples. Properties of the modified PE were studied using various methods: AFM, EPR, RBS and nanoindentation. It was shown that the plasma treatment results in degradation of polymer chain (AFM) and creation of free radicals by EPR. After grafting with dithiol, the concentration of free radicals declines. The presence of Au and S in the surface layer after the coating with Au-nanoparticles was proved by RBS. Plasma treatment changes PE surface morphology and increases surface roughness, too. Another significant change in surface morphology and roughness was observed after deposition of Au-nanoparticles. Nanoindentation measurements show that the grafting with Au-nanoparticles increases adhesion of subsequently sputtered Au layer.

Polyethylene (PE) surface was treated with Ar plasma. Activated surface was grafted from methanol solution of 1,2-ethanedithiol. Then the sample was immersed into freshly prepared colloid solution of Au-nanoparticles. Finally Au layer was sputtered on the samples. Properties of the modified PE were studied using various methods: AFM, EPR, RBS and nanoindentation. It was shown that the plasma treatment results in degradation of polymer chain (AFM) and creation of free radicals by EPR. After grafting with dithiol, the concentration of free radicals declines. The presence of Au and S in the surface layer after the coating with Au-nanoparticles was proved by RBS. Plasma treatment changes PE surface morphology and increases surface roughness, too. Another significant change in surface morphology and roughness was observed after deposition of Au-nanoparticles. Nanoindentation measurements show that the grafting with Au-nanoparticles increases adhesion of subsequently sputtered Au layer.

Understanding the atomic diffusions at the nanoscale is important for controlling the synthesis and utilization of nanomaterials. Here, using in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy coupled with theoretical calculations, we demonstrate a so far unexplored unidirectional diffusion from the Au shell to the Cu core in thermally alloying Cu@Au core@shell architecture of ca. 7.1 nm. The initial diffusion step at 423 K is found to be characterized by the formation of a diffusion layer composed of a Au-dilute substitutional CuAu-like intermetallic compound with short Cu-Au bond length (2.61 Å). The diffusion further happens by the migration of the Au atoms with large disorder into the interior Cu matrix at higher temperatures (453 and 553 K). These results suggest that the structural preference of a CuAu-like compound, along with the nanosized effect, plays a critical role in determining the atomic diffusion dynamics.

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is known to have a semiconductor-to-metal phase transition at ˜68 °C. Therefore, it can be used as a tunable component of an active metamaterial. The lamellar metamaterial studied in this work is composed of subwavelength VO2 and Au layers and is designed to undergo a temperature controlled transition from the optical hyperbolic phase to the metallic phase. VO2 films and VO2/Au lamellar metamaterial stacks have been fabricated and studied in electrical conductivity and optical (transmission and reflection) experiments. The observed temperature-dependent changes in the reflection and transmission spectra of the metamaterials and VO2 thin films are in a good qualitative agreement with theoretical predictions. The demonstrated optical hyperbolic-to-metallic phase transition is a unique physical phenomenon with the potential to enable advanced control of light-matter interactions.

The effect of intermixing on the apparent interface stress is studied in -textured dc-magnetron sputtered Au/Ni multilayers by use of two methods commonly used for determining interface stress. The method using profilometry and in-plane x-ray diffraction does not take intermixing...... into account and yields an apparent interface stress of -8.46 +/- 0.99 J m(-2). However, observed discrepancies between model calculations and measured high-angle x-ray diffractograms indicate intermixing, and by use of the profilometry and sin(2) psi method the real interface stress value of -2.69 +/- 0.43 J...... to be inapplicable to interface stress determinations in systems exhibiting a modulation period-dependent stress-free lattice parameter. Finally, a deviation of the interface stress in the Au/Ni sample with the smallest modulation period as compared to specimens with larger bilayer lengths is observed...

Ion irradiation of nanoparticles leads to enhanced sputter yields if the nanoparticle size is of the order of the ion penetration depth. While this feature is reasonably well understood for collision-cascade sputtering, we explore it in the regime of collision-spike sputtering using molecular-dynamics simulation. For the particular case of 200-keV Xe bombardment of Au particles, we show that collision spikes lead to abundant sputtering with an average yield of 397 ± 121 atoms compared to only 116 ± 48 atoms for a bulk Au target. Only around 31 % of the impact energy remains in the nanoparticles after impact; the remainder is transported away by the transmitted projectile and the ejecta. The sputter yield of supported nanoparticles is estimated to be around 80 % of that of free nanoparticles due to the suppression of forward sputtering.

Gold(I) and gold(III) complexes derived from 2-(2'-pyridyl)benzimidazole (pbiH) were proven to be a promising class of in vitro antitumor agents against A2780 human ovarian cancer cells. In this paper, a comparative electrochemical, UV-vis absorption, and emission spectroscopic investigation is reported on pbiH, the two mononuclear Au(III) complexes [(pbi)AuX2] (X = Cl (1), AcO (2)), the four mononuclear Au(I) derivatives [(pbiH)AuCl] (3), [(pbiH)Au(PPh3)]PF6 ((4(+))(PF6(-))), [(pbi)Au(PPh3)] (5), and [(pbi)Au(TPA)] (6), the three mixed-valence Au(III)/Au(I) complexes [(μ-pbi)Au2Cl3] (7), [(Ph3P)Au(μ-pbi)AuX2]PF6 (X = Cl ((8(+))(PF6(-))), AcO ((9(+))(PF6(-)))), and the binuclear Au(I)-Au(I) compound [(μ-pbi)Au2(PPh3)2]PF6 ((10(+))(PF6(-))). All complexes feature irreversible reduction processes related to the Au(III)/Au(I) or Au(I)/Au(0) processes and peculiar luminescent emission at about 360-370 nm in CH2Cl2, with quantum yields that are remarkably lower ((0.7-14.5) × 10(-2)) in comparison to that determined for the free pbiH ligand (31.5 × 10(-2)) in the same solvent. The spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of all complexes were interpreted on the grounds of time-dependent PBE0/DFT calculations carried out both in the gas phase and in CH2Cl2 implicitly considered within the IEF-PCM SCRF approach. The electronic structure of the complexes, and in particular the energy and composition of the Kohn-Sham LUMOs, can be related to the antiproliferative properties against the A2780 ovarian carcinoma cell line, providing sound quantitative structure-activity relationships and shedding a light on the role played by the global charge and nature of ancillary ligands in the effectiveness of Au-based antitumor drugs.

The shell thickness-dependent strain distributions of the Au/Ag and Ag/Au core-shell nanoparticles embedded in Al2O3 matrix have been investigated by finite element method (FEM) calculations, respectively. The simulation results clearly indicate that there is a substantial strain applied on both the Au/Ag and Ag/Au core-shell nanoparticles by the Al2O3 matrix. For the Au/Ag nanoparticles, it can be found that the compressive strain existing in the shell is stronger than that on the center of ...

There is increasing documentation of allergic contact dermatitis and other effects from gold jewelry, gold dental restorations, and gold implants. These effects were especially pronounced among females wearing body-piercing gold objects. One estimate of the prevalence of gold allergy worldwide is 13%, as judged by patch tests with monovalent organogold salts. Eczema of the head and neck was the most common response of individuals hypersensitive to gold, and sensitivity can last for at least several years. Ingestion of beverages containing flake gold can result in allergic-type reactions similar to those seen in gold-allergic individuals exposed to gold through dermal contact and other routes. Studies with small laboratory mammals and injected doses of colloidal gold showed increased body temperatures, accumulations in reticular cells, and dose enhancement in tumor therapy; gold implants were associated with tissue injuries. It is proposed that Au? toxicity to mammals is associated, in part, with formation of the more reactive Au+ and Au3+ species.

We discuss the role of localized high electric fields in the modification of Au surfaces with a W probe using the Interfacial Force Microscope. Upon bringing a probe close to a Au surface, we measure both the interfacial force and the field emission current as a function of separation with a constant potential of 100 V between tip and sample. The current initially increases exponentially as the separation decreases. However, at a distance of less than {approximately} 500{angstrom} the current rises sharply as the surface begins to distort and rapidly close the gap. Retraction of the tip before contact is made reveals the formation of a mound on the surface. We propose a simple model, in which the localized high electric field under the tip assists the production of mobile Au adatoms by detachment from surface steps, and a radial field gradient causes a net flux of atoms toward the tip by surface diffusion. These processes give rise to an unstable surface deformation which, if left unchecked, results in a destructive mechanical contact. We discuss our findings with respect to earlier work using voltage pulses in the STM as a means of nanofabrication.

Density function theory and discrete variation method (DFT-DVM) were used to study the adsorption of [Au(AsS3 ) ]2- on the surface of kaolinite. The correlation among structure, chemical bond and stability was discussed. Several models were selected with [ Au( AsS3 ) ]2- in different directions and sites. The resultsshow that the models with gold on the edge of kaolinite basal layer contain pincerlike bond among gold and severaloxygen atoms and form strong Au - O covalent bond, so these models are more stable than those with gold aboveor under the layer. The models with gold near to [ AlO2(OH)4 ] octahedra are more stable than those with goldnear to the vacancy without aluminium. These two stable tendencies in kaolinite- [ Au( AsS3 ) ]2- are stronger thanthat in kaolinite-Au systems. The interaction between [ Au( AsS3 ) ]2- and kaolinite is stronger than that betweengold and kaolinite, and this interaction is strong enough to form the surface complexes.

2-Mercapto-5-benzimidazolesulfonic acid (MBISA) modified Fe3O4/Au nanoparticles were synthesized in aqueous solution and characterized by photo correlation spectroscopy (PCS) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The so-obtained Fe3O4/Au-MBISA nanoparticles were capable of specific adsorbing lysozyme. The maximum amount of lysozyme adsorbed on 1.0mg Fe3O4/Au-MBISA nanoparticles was 346μg. The lysozyme desorption behavior was studied and the lysozyme recovery from Fe3O4/Au-MBISA nanoparticles approached 100% under optimal conditions, and the reusability studies showed that the nanoparticles could maintain about 91% of the initial lysozyme adsorption capacity after 7 repeated adsorption-elution cycles. The Fe3O4/Au-MBISA nanoparticles were used in the purification of lysozyme from chicken egg white, which was verified by a single SDS-PAGE band. Therefore, the obtained Fe3O4/Au-MBISA nanoparticles exhibited excellent performance in the direct purification of lysozyme from egg white.

Nano-sized Au and Pd catalysts are favorable for oxidations with molecular oxygen, and the preparation of this kind of nanoparticles with high catalytic activities is strongly desirable. We report a successful synthesis of bimetal- lic Au-Pd nanoparticles with rich edge and comer sites on unique support of Mg-AI mixed oxides (Au-Pd/MAO), which are favorable for producing metal nanoparticles with high degree of coordinative unsaturation of metal atoms The systematic microscopic characterizations confirm the bimetallic Au-Pd nanoparticles are present as Au-Pd alloy The irregular shape of the bimetallic nanoparticles are directly observed in HRTEM images. As we expected, Au-Pd/MAO gives very excellent catalytic performances in the aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol and glycerol. For example, Au-Pd/MAO shows very high TOF of 91000 h i at 433 K with molecular oxygen at air pressure in solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol; this catalyst also shows relatively high selectivity for tartronic acid (TA- RAC, 36.6%) at high conversion (98.5%) in aerobic oxidation of glycerol. The superior catalytic properties of Au-Pd/MAO would be potentially important tbr production of fine chemicals.

Au + Au, s1/2 = 200 GeV measurements at RHIC, obtained with the PHENIX, STAR, PHOBOS and BRAHMS detectors, have all indicated a suppression of high p⊥ particle production, relative to an appropriately normalized NN level. For central collisions and vanishing pseudo-rapidity these experiments exhibit suppression in charged meson production, especially at medium-to-large transverse momenta. In the PHENIX experiment similar behaviour has been reported for π0 spectra. In a recent work [1] on the simpler D + Au interaction, to be considered perhaps as a tune-up for Au + Au, we reported on a pre-hadronic cascade mechanism which can explain the mixed observation of moderately reduced p⊥ suppression at higher pseudo-rapidity as well as the Cronin enhancement at mid-rapidity. Here, we present the extension of this work to the more massive ion-ion collisions. Our major thesis is that much of the suppression is generated in a late stage cascade of colourless pre-hadrons produced after an initial short-lived coloured phase. We present a pQCD argument to justify this approach and to estimate the time duration τp of this initial phase. Of essential importance is the brevity in time of the coloured phase existence relative to that of the strongly interacting pre-hadron phase, the latter essentially an interactive cascade. These distinctions in phase are of course not strict, but adequate for treating the suppression of moderate and high p⊥ mesons.

In this paper, we report and discuss our successful synthesis of monodispersed, polystyrene-coated gold core-shell nanoparticles (Au@PS NPs) for use in highly efficient, air-stable, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs). These core-shell NPs retain the dual functions of (1) the plasmonic effect of the Au core and (2) the stability and solvent resistance of the cross-linked PS shell. The monodispersed Au@PS NPs were incorporated into a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) film that was located between the ITO substrate and the emitting layer (or active layer) in the devices. The incorporation of the Au@PS NPs provided remarkable improvements in the performances of both OLEDs and OPVs, which benefitted from the plasmonic effect of the Au@PS NPs. The OLED device with the Au@PS NPs achieved an enhancement of the current efficiency that was 42% greater than that of the control device. In addition, the power conversion efficiency was increased from 7.6% to 8.4% in PTB7:PC71BM-based OPVs when the Au@PS NPs were embedded. Direct evidence of the plasmonic effect on optical enhancement of the device was provided by near-field scanning optical microscopy measurements. More importantly, the Au@PS NPs induced a remarkable and simultaneous improvement in the stabilities of the OLED and OPV devices by reducing the acidic and hygroscopic properties of the PEDOT:PSS layer.

A state-of-the-art 3D source imaging technique is used to extract the 3D two-pion source function in central and mid-central Au+Au collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV. The source function indicates a previously unresolved non-Gaussian tail in the directions of the pion pair transverse momentum (out) and along the beam (long). Model comparisons give robust estimates for several characteristics of the emission source, including its transverse size, its mean proper breakup time $\\tau$ and its emission duration $\\Delta\\tau$. These estimates are incompatible with the predictions for a first order phase transition. However, they point to significant relative emission times which could result from a crossover phase transition.

Velocity correlations of intermediate mass fragments (IMFs), produced in central collisions of Au+Au at 150 MeV beam energy, are extracted from measurements with the FOPI (phase I) detector system at SIS in GSI Darmstadt. The IMF correlation function for semicentral events is found to be affected by the directed sideward flow. When rotating the events into a unique reaction plane an enhancement of correlations, resulting from event mixing effects, vanishes. Selecting violent collisions with a high degree of azimuthal symmetry the correlation function appears nearly independent of additional event or single particle gate conditions. The comparison of the data with a Coulomb dominated final-state interaction model points to an expanding and multifragmenting soure with radius [ital R][similar to]14 fm.

Velocity correlations of intermediate mass fragments (IMFs), produced in central collisions of Au+Au at 150 MeV beam energy, are extracted from measurements with the FOPI (phase I) detector system at SIS in GSI Darmstadt. The IMF correlation function for semicentral events is found to be affected by the directed sideward flow. When rotating the events into a unique reaction plane an enhancement of correlations, resulting from event mixing effects, vanishes. Selecting violent collisions with a high degree of azimuthal symmetry the correlation function appears nearly independent of additional event or single particle gate conditions. The comparison of the data with a Coulomb dominated final-state interaction model points to an expanding and multifragmenting soure with radius R~14 fm.

We present a systematic study of charged-pion and kaon interferometry in Au +Au collisions at √{s NN}=200 GeV. The kaon mean source radii are found to be larger than pion radii in the outward and longitudinal directions for the same transverse mass; this difference increases for more central collisions. The azimuthal-angle dependence of the radii was measured with respect to the second-order event plane and similar oscillations of the source radii were found for pions and kaons. Hydrodynamic models qualitatively describe the similar oscillations of the mean source radii for pions and kaons, but they do not fully describe the transverse-mass dependence of the oscillations.

We present a systematic study of charged pion and kaon interferometry in Au$+$Au collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV. The kaon mean source radii are found to be larger than pion radii in the outward and longitudinal directions for the same transverse mass; this difference increases for more central collisions. The azimuthal-angle dependence of the radii was measured with respect to the second-order event plane and similar oscillations of the source radii were found for pions and kaons. Hydrodynamic models qualitatively describe the similar oscillations of the mean source radii for pions and kaons, but they do not fully describe the transverse-mass dependence of the oscillations.

We have modified the theory of Chu and Matsui by properly incorporating bag model equation of state for quark gluon plasma (QGP). We have also chosen the pressure parametrization rather than parametrizing energy density in the transverse plane. We assume that the QGP dense medium is expanding in the longitudinal direction obeying Bjorken boost invariant scaling law. Sequential melting of $\\chi_c$, $\\psi^{'}$ and $J/\\psi$ is also considered in this scenario. We have applied above formulation to the recent PHENIX experimental data of $J/\\psi$ suppression in Au+Au collisions at RHIC. We find that the model gives a good description of data at mid-rapidity in terms of survival probability versus number of participants without any necessity of implementing (3+1)-dimensional expansion of the deconfined medium.

Dihadron angular correlations in d +Au collisions at √{sNN} = 200 GeV are reported as a function of the measured zero-degree calorimeter neutral energy and the forward charged hadron multiplicity in the Au-beam direction. A finite correlated yield is observed at large relative pseudorapidity (Δη) on the near side (i.e. relative azimuth Δϕ ∼ 0). This correlated yield as a function of Δη appears to scale with the dominant, primarily jet-related, away-side (Δϕ ∼ π) yield. The Fourier coefficients of the Δϕ correlation, Vn = , have a strong Δη dependence. In addition, it is found that V1 is approximately inversely proportional to the mid-rapidity event multiplicity, while V2 is independent of it with similar magnitude in the forward (d-going) and backward (Au-going) directions.

Metal-oxide heterostructures have been attracting considerable attention in recent years due to various technological applications. We present results of electronic structure and transport calculations for the Au-MgO-Au (metal-insulator-metal) heterostructure based on density-functional theory and the nonequilibrium Green’s functions method. The dependence of the conductance of the heterostructure on the thickness of the MgO interlayer and the interface spacing is studied. In addition, we address the effects of O vacancies. We observe deviations from an exponentially suppressed conductance with growing interlayer thickness caused by Au-O chemical bonds. Electronic states tracing back to O vacancies can increase the conductance. Furthermore, this effect can be enhanced by enlarging the interface spacing as the vacancy induced Mg states are shifted toward the Fermi energy.

Aucore-Ptshell (Au@Pt) nanoparticles were synthesized at room temperature by reducing K2PtCl6 with hydrogen in the solution containing Au colloids and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The particles obtained were characterized with UV-Vis, TEM and XPS techniques. UV-Vis spectra show that the surface plasmon absorption feature of Au colloids is significantly reduced with increasing the amount of reduced Pt. TEM images that the metals are found always appear as spherical nanoparticles and their sizes grow apparently due to the reduction of PtCl62- ions, indicating that Pt is deposited from solution onto Au particle surface and forms a Pt-layer with uniform thickness. In the XPS spectra, the signals of Au metal decrease due to the reductive deposition of Pt on the surface of the Au colloids. UV-Vis and XPS data are consistent in showing that when the amount of Pt in the AuPt colloids is increased to reach an overall atomic ratio of Pt/Au=2, the Pt deposits form a shell covering completely the surface of Au particles, demonstrating the core-shell structure of the synthesized AuPt particles.

The reaction of CpMoH(CO)(2)L with AuPPh(3)(+)BF(4)(-) in THF at -40 degrees C proceeds directly to the MoAu(2) cluster compounds [CpMo(CO)(2)L(AuPPh(3))(2)](+)BF(4)(-) (L = PMe(3) (1), PPh(3) (2)) with release of protons. A 1:1 reaction leaves 50% of the starting hydride unreacted. At lower temperature, however, the formation of a [CpMo(CO)(2)(PMe(3))(&mgr;-H)(AuPPh(3))](+) intermediate is observed. This compound evolves to the cation of 1 and CpMoH(CO)(2)(PMe(3)) upon warming and is deprotonated by 2,6-lutidine to afford CpMo(CO)(2)(PMe(3))(AuPPh(3)). The X-ray structure of 1 can be described as a four-legged piano stool with the PMe(3) and the "eta(2)-(AuPPh(3))(2)" ligands occupying relative trans positions. [Cp(CO)(2)(PMe(3))Mo(AuPPh(3))(2)](+)[BF(4)](-) (M(r) = 1298.41): monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n, a = 18.1457(13) Å, b = 9.7811(7) Å, c = 26.096(2) Å, beta = 105.086(5) degrees, V = 4472.0(5) Å(3), Z = 4. The reaction of CpMoH(CO)(2)(PMe(3)) with 3 equiv of AuPPh(3)(+) affords a MoAu(3) cluster, [CpMo(CO)(2)(PMe(3))(AuPPh(3))(3)](2+) (3), in good yields under kinetically controlled conditions. Under thermodynamically controlled conditions, 3 dissociates extensively into 1 and free AuPPh(3)(+). It is proposed that the hydride ligand helps build higher nuclearity Mo-Au clusters. The difference in reaction pathways for the interaction of AuPPh(3)(+) with CpMoH(CO)(2)L when L = PR(3) or CO and for the interaction of CpMoH(CO)(2)(PMe(3)) with E(+) when E = H, Ph(3)C or AuPPh(3) is discussed. The lower acidity and greater aurophilicity of the [CpMo(CO)(2)L(&mgr;-H)(AuPPh(3))](+) intermediate when L = PMe(3) favor attack by AuPPh(3)(+) before deprotonation.

We report a new strategy for ligand-free attachment of plasmonic Au nanoparticles on the surface of a ZnO nanowire to make high-performance broadband photodetectors using a pulsed laser ablation technique in a liquid medium. The photoresponse of the ZnO-based photodetector is enhanced and the photodetection limit is broadened from UV to visible, which can be controlled by varying the concentration of Au nanoparticles attached to the ZnO surface. This Au nanoparticle concentration can be tuned by varying the number of laser pulses used in the ablation process. We found that the responsivity of the detector is 10 mA W-1 for λ ˜ 525 {nm} and increases to as much as 0.4 A W-1 for λ ≤ 400 nm for the maximum Au concentration. The enhanced responsivity was found to be linked to increased absorption over a broad spectral range arising from direct and indirect plasmonic processes due to Au nanoparticle attachment, and the enhanced absorption also leads to a large increment in photocurrent generation. We also found that the attachment of Au nanoparticles makes the relaxation of the photocurrent (persistence) considerably faster in both the UV and visible regions of the spectrum and that the persistence directly depends on the concentration of Au nanoparticles attached to the ZnO nanowire. This single-step pulsed laser ablation-based nanoparticle attachment process can be further used to make other plasmonic nanoparticle-decorated nanowire devices.

Two strongly correlated electron systems are considered in this work, Kondo insulators and high Tc cuprates. Experiments and theory suggest on one hand that the Kondo screening occurs on a rather short length scale and on the other hand that the Kondo coupling is renormalized to infinity in the low energy limit. The strong coupling limit is then the logical approach although the real coupling is moderate. A systematic development is performed around this limit in the first part. The band structure of these materials is reproduced within this scheme. Magnetic fluctuations are also studied. The antiferromagnetic transition is examined in the case where fermionic excitations are shifted to high energy. In the second part, the Popov and Fedotov representation of spins is used to formulate the Kondo and the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model in terms of a non-polynomial action of boson fields. In the third part the properties of high Tc cuprates are explained by a change of topology of the Fermi surface. This phenomenon would happen near the point of optimal doping and zero temperature. It results in the appearance of a density wave phase in the under-doped regime. The possibility that this phase has a non-conventional symmetry is considered. The phase diagram that described the interaction and coexistence of density wave and superconductivity is established in the mean-field approximation. The similarities with the experimental observations are numerous in particular those concerning the pseudo-gap and the behavior of the resistivity near optimal doping. (author)

This by-law fixes the constructive and organisational dispositions that must fulfill the power generating facilities in order to make their connection to the public power grid conformable with the objectives of the decree from June 27, 2003. The dispositions concern: the voltage, connection scheme, protection systems, earthing, domain of operation, frequency adjustment and quality of current, communication and remote control systems of the power generating facility. (J.S.)

Delegations from Canada, Finland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States agreed to the establishment of a network for cooperation among individuals engaged in problems peculiar to the circumpolar North. The Northern Science Network, established within the Unesco Man and the Biosphere Program, consists of three themes: studies on the…

A sintering process of nanoparticles made of Ag, Au, and interfaced Ag/Au heterodimers was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy at room temperature. Such a process is driven by the illumination of a high-energy electron beam accelerated at 200 kV that promotes atom diffusion in the nanoparticles that are in physical contact. Upon electron illumination, adjacent Au nanoparticles gradually merge together to form a larger particle along with the reduction of the surface area despite the fact that orientated attachment is not observed. According to the detailed analysis of the size change of the particles and the contact area, it was found that the nanoparticle fusion process is significantly different from the well-established thermal diffusion mechanism. In addition to the similar fusion process of Au nanoparticles, Ag nanoparticles undergo apparent sublimation induced by knock on damage because the transferred energy from the electron beam to nanoparticles is higher than the surface binding energy of Ag atoms when the electron scattering angle is larger than 112°. The particles with a smaller size diffuse faster. Surface diffusion dominates at the beginning of the fusion process followed by slower lattice diffusion. Electron beam illumination can transform the interfaced Au/Ag dimers to Au@Ag core-shell particles followed by a slow removal of the Ag shells. This process under normal electron beam illumination is a lot faster than the thermally driven process. Both diffusion and sublimation of Ag atoms are dependent on the intensity of the electron beam, i.e., a higher beam intensity is favorable to accelerate both the processes.

The morphology and electronic structure of vapor deposited 4,4'-biphenyldiisocyanide (BPDI) on a Au(111) surface were investigated using variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. When deposited at room temperature, BPDI molecules form one-dimensional molecular chains similar to that recently observed for the structurally related 1,4-phenyl diisocyanide (PDI). Compared to PDI, the longer periodicity for the BPDI molecular chains is consistent with the addition of a second phenyl ring and supports a structural model in which the BPDI molecules lie parallel to the surface and interconnected by Au-adatoms. The molecular chains are mostly aligned along the [" separators=" 1 1 ¯ 0 ] direction of the Au(111) substrate, but exhibit frequent changes in angle that are consistent with directions between fcc and hcp three-fold hollow sites. Dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations for one-dimensional chains of BPDI molecules bound end-to-end via their isocyanide groups to Au-adatoms reproduce the observed periodicity of the chains and show that this morphology is energetically favored over upright binding with one free —NC group. The spatially resolved conductance (dI/dV) map for BPDI on Au(111) exhibits a feature centered at -0.67 eV below the Fermi level which are delocalized along the chain with maxima at the Au-adatom and biphenyl positions. This occupied resonant feature is close to that previously observed for the PDI in both photoemission and conductance measurements and is attributed to an occupied interfacial state resulting from BPDI-Au interactions.

Full Text Available Maxime Gougis, Dongling Ma, Mohamed Mohamedi INRS-Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, Varennes, Québec, Canada Abstract: In this work, we report for the first time the use of tungsten oxide (WOx as catalyst support for Au toward the direct electrooxidation of glucose. The nanostructured WOx/Au electrodes were synthesized by means of laser-ablation technique. Both micro-Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the produced WOx thin film is amorphous and made of ultrafine particles of subnanometer size. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that only metallic Au was present at the surface of the WOx/Au composite, suggesting that the WOx support did not alter the electronic structure of Au. The direct electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose in neutral medium such as phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.2 solution has been investigated with cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and square-wave voltammetry. Sensitivity as high as 65.7 µA cm-2 mM-1 up to 10 mM of glucose and a low detection limit of 10 µM were obtained with square-wave voltammetry. This interesting analytical performance makes the laser-fabricated WOx/Au electrode potentially promising for implantable glucose fuel cells and biomedical analysis as the evaluation of glucose concentration in biological fluids. Finally, owing to its unique capabilities proven in this work, it is anticipated that the laser-ablation technique will develop as a fabrication tool for chip miniature-sized sensors in the near future. Keywords: Au, tungsten oxide, nanostructures, pulsed laser deposition, glucose oxidation and sensing

The ratio of the shear viscosity ($\\eta$) to entropy density ($s$) for the intermediate energy heavy-ion collisions has been calculated by using the Green-Kubo method in the framework of the quantum molecular dynamics model. The theoretical curve of $\\eta/s$ as a function of the incident energy for the head-on Au+Au collisions displays that a minimum region of $\\eta/s$ has been approached at higher incident energies, where the minimum $\\eta/s$ value is about 7 times Kovtun-Son- Starinets (KSS...

Arrays of vertical nanowires structured in Au/NiO/Au segments with 50 nm diameter are characterized by conductive atomic force microscopy to investigate unipolar resistive switching in NiO at the nanoscale. The switching cycles are characterized by extremely low power consumption down to 1.3 nW, which constitutes a significant improvement in nanowire-based resistive switching memory devices. The trend of the reset current as a function of the set resistance, typical of unipolar memories, is extended to a much wider current range than what is reported in literature, confirming the role of Joule heating in the reset process for very low reset currents.

Full Text Available Nuclear stopping in central Au+Au collisions at relativistic heavy-ion collider (RHIC energies is studied in the framework of a cascade mode and the modified ultrarelativistic quantum molecular dynamics (UrQMD transport model. In the modified mode, the mean field potentials of both formed and “preformed” hadrons (from string fragmentation are considered. It is found that the nuclear stopping is increasingly influenced by the mean-field potentials in the projectile and target regions with the increase of the reaction energy. In the central region, the calculations of the cascade model considering the modifying factor can describe the experimental data of the PHOBOS collaboration.

Organic synthesis using gold has gained tremendous attention in last few years, especially heterogeneous gold catalysis based on gold nanoparticles has made its place in almost all organic reactions, because of the robust and green nature of gold catalysts. In this context, gold nanopore (AuNPore) with a 3D metal framework is giving a new dimension to heterogeneous gold catalysts. Interestingly, AuNPore chemistry is proving better than gold nanoparticles based chemistry. In this review, along with recent advances, major discoveries in heterogeneous gold catalysis are discussed.

The elliptic-flow ratio of neutrons with respect to protons or light complex particles in reactions of neutron-rich systems at relativistic energies is proposed as an observable sensitive to the strength of the symmetry term in the equation of state at supra-normal densities. The results obtained from the existing FOPI/LAND data for {sup 197}Au + {sup 197}Au collisions at 400 MeV/nucleon in comparison with the UrQMD model favor a moderately soft symmetry term with a density dependence of the potential term proportional to ({rho}/{rho}{sub 0}){sup {gamma}} with {gamma}=0.9{+-}0.4.

The first measurements of light antinucleus production in Au + Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider are reported. The observed production rates for d and /sup 3/He are much larger than in lower energy nucleus-nucleus collisions. A coalescence model analysis of the yields indicates that there is little or no increase in the antinucleon freeze-out volume compared to collisions at CERN SPS energy. These analyses also indicate that the 3He freeze-out volume is smaller than the d freeze-out volume. (22 refs).

Many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) calculations are an adequate tool for the description of the structure of highly charged multi-electron ions and for the analysis of their spectra. They demonstrate this by way of a re-investigation of n=3, {Delta}n=0 transitions in the EUV spectra of Na-, Mg-, Al-like, and Si-like ions of Au that have been obtained previously by heavy-ion accelerator based beam-foil spectroscopy. They discuss the evidence and propose several revisions on the basis of the multi-reference many-body perturbation theory calculations of Ne- through P-like ions of Au.

The Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) is predicted for Au-Au collisions at RHIC. However, many backgrounds can give signals that make the measurement hard to interpret. The STAR experiment has made measurements at different collisions energy ranging from √(sNN)=7.7 GeV to 62.4 GeV. In the analysis that is presented we show that the CME turns on with energy and is not present in central collisions where the induced magnetic is small.

Momentum spectra of charged pions over nearly full rapidity coverage from target to beam rapidity have been measured in the 0-5% most central Au+Au collisions in the beam energy range from 2 to 8 AGeV by the E895 Experiment. Using a thermal parameterization to fit the transverse mass spectra, rapidity density distributions are extracted. The observed spectra are compared with predictions from the RQMD v2.3 cascade model and also to a thermal model including longitudinal flow. The total 4$pi$ yields of the charged pions are used to infer an initial state entropy produced in the collisions.

Using the large acceptance Time Projection Chamber of experiment E895 at Brookhaven, measurements of collective sideward flow in Au + Au collisions at beam energies of 2, 4, 6 and 8A GeV are presented in the form of in-plane transverse momentum and the first Fourier coefficient of azimuthal anisotropy v_1. These measurements indicate a smooth variation of sideward flow as a function of beam energy. The data are compared with four nuclear transport models which have an orientation towards this energy range. All four exhibit some qualitative trends similar to those found in the data, although none shows a consistent pattern of agreement within experimental uncertainties.